* Sterling hits highest since mid-July on EU's Juncker
comments
* Less U.S. money market stress pares demand for greenback
* Norwegian crown's gain fades after Norges Bank hikes rates
* Graphic: World FX rates in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
(Updates market action, adds quote)
By Kate Duguid and Richard Leong
NEW YORK, Sept 19 (Reuters) - The dollar fell against most
major currencies on Thursday as some central banks refrained
from cutting interest rates after the Federal Reserve's second
rate decrease this year, boosting the appeal of their currencies
versus the greenback.
Sterling rallied in late U.S. trading following comments
from European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker which
raised hopes for a deal for Britain to leave the European Union.
The Swiss National Bank, the Bank of England and the Bank of
Japan all kept their policies on hold on Thursday. Norges Bank
increased its key policy rate, moving its rates in the opposite
direction of Europe and the United States. These central banks are generally "kind of holding their
breath and holding their fire in terms of fully acknowledging
that further easing could come down the road but not moving in a
proactive way towards additional easing," said Brian
Daingerfield, head of G10 FX strategy at NatWest Securities in
Stamford, Connecticut.
On Wednesday, the Fed as expected cut interest rates by a
quarter point to support a record-long economic expansion but
signaled a higher bar for further reductions in borrowing costs
amid a favorable economic outlook. On the other hand, the Organisation for Economic
Co-Operation and Development (OECD) on Thursday cut its global
economic growth forecasts for 2019 and 2020. U.S. gross domestic
product is expected to rise 2.4% this year, down from a forecast
2.8% growth in May, the group said. In late U.S. trading, the euro was up 0.19% at $1.1051,
while the greenback was 0.42% lower at 107.99 yen.
The dollar shed 0.53% at 0.99235 Swiss franc, and declined
0.32% to C$1.3254.
The greenback fell to a five-week low at 8.9688 Norwegian
crown NOK before erasing its earlier losses.
Some analysts also attributed lower demand for the greenback
as stress in U.S. money markets has subsided with the Fed
injecting over $200 billion in temporary cash into the banking
system since Tuesday.
"The shortage of dollars has eased somewhat. With a possible
crisis averted, you have people moving back into other
currencies," said Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist at
Cambridge Global Payments in Toronto.
Meanwhile, the British pound posted a late lift after
Juncker said "I think we can have a deal" if the Irish border
backstop, which the British government wants removed, could be
replaced with alternatives.
Following Juncker's comments, sterling GBP=D3 hit $1.256,
its highest since July 15 and $88.04 pence per euro, a level not
seen since late May.
========================================================
Currency bid prices at 3:06PM (1906 GMT)
Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid
Previous Change
Session
Euro/Dollar EUR= $1.1051 $1.1029 +0.20% -3.64% +1.1073 +1.1024
Dollar/Yen JPY= 107.9700 108.4400 -0.43% -2.07% +108.4600 +107.8000
Euro/Yen EURJPY= 119.33 119.60 -0.23% -5.46% +119.6600 +118.9800
Dollar/Swiss CHF= 0.9923 0.9973 -0.50% +1.11% +0.9983 +0.9901
Sterling/Dollar GBP= 1.2534 1.2468 +0.53% -1.75% +1.2559 +1.2439
Dollar/Canadian CAD= 1.3255 1.3284 -0.22% -2.80% +1.3307 +1.3242
Australian/Doll AUD= 0.6799 0.6827 -0.41% -3.55% +0.6832 +0.6781
ar
Euro/Swiss EURCHF= 1.0966 1.1000 -0.31% -2.56% +1.1017 +1.0957
Euro/Sterling EURGBP= 0.8816 0.8841 -0.28% -1.87% +0.8893 +0.8805
NZ NZD= 0.6304 0.6320 -0.25% -6.13% +0.6331 +0.6299
Dollar/Dollar
Dollar/Norway NOK= 8.9694 8.9450 +0.27% +3.83% +8.9835 +8.8885
Euro/Norway EURNOK= 9.9115 9.8652 +0.47% +0.06% +9.9277 +9.8124
Dollar/Sweden SEK= 9.6857 9.7251 -0.21% +8.05% +9.7388 +9.6739
Euro/Sweden EURSEK= 10.7043 10.7272 -0.21% +4.29% +10.7551 +10.6970
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EXPLAINER-The Fed has a repo problem. What's that?
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