FOREX-Dollar nurses losses after Fed, jump in risk appetite

* Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E
* Central banks set theme for currencies
* Euro steady as traders eye ECB meeting
* Antipodean currencies continue gains

By Stanley White
TOKYO, April 30 (Reuters) - The dollar nursed losses on
Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve left the door open to
more monetary easing and dampened expectations for a quick
economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
The greenback was also weighed down as signs the pandemic is
receding in other countries and reduced safe-haven demand for
holding funds in dollars. Additionally boosting appetite for
riskier currencies were positive trial results of an
experimental COVID-19 treatment. The euro held steady before a European Central Bank meeting
later on Thursday where policymakers are likely to expand debt
purchases to include junk bonds and take other steps to ease
conditions in credit markets.
More countries are taking steps to re-open their economies
as coronavirus infections slow, giving some cause for optimism.
However, it will likely take several months for U.S.
consumer spending to fully recover given the massive job losses,
which has discouraged any extensive dollar buying.
"The Fed has already eased a lot, but the fact that it said
it would be willing to do even more has taken some gloss off the
dollar," said Minori Uchida, head of global market research at
MUFG Bank in Tokyo.
"I expect dollar/yen to drift lower. The euro can benefit
from dollar weakness as long as euro-zone government bond
spreads don't widen a lot."
The dollar traded at 106.65 yen JPY=EBS in Asia on
Thursday, close to a six-week low.
Against the pound GBP=D3 , the dollar stood at $1.2461,
following a 0.3% decline on Wednesday.
The greenback was little changed at 0.9748 Swiss franc
CHF=EBS .
After a two-day policy meeting ending Wednesday, the Fed
kept interest rates near zero and promised to expand emergency
programmes as needed to help the battered economy. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell offered no sanguine words about
how fast the country might return - if ever - to the near-record
low unemployment and solid growth of just a few weeks ago.
Sentiment for the dollar also took a hit after data on
Wednesday showed U.S. gross domestic product fell in the first
quarter at the sharpest pace since the Great Recession.
Economists say the second quarter could be even worse.
The United States and other major economies forced
businesses to close and kept people at home to slow the spread
of the novel coronavirus, which slammed the brakes on global
growth.
The euro EUR=EBS was little changed at $1.0867 on
Thursday. Against the pound EURGBP= , the common currency
traded 87.25 pence.
The ECB, which announces its policy decision later Thursday,
is under pressure to keep government bond yields from rising
after rating agency Fitch cut Italy's credit rating to one notch
above junk due to the financial burden of the coronavirus
outbreak.
The ECB is already printing money at a record rate to buy up
ballooning state debt. However, European Union officials have struggled to agree
the details of a joint recovery fund, which shifts the burden to
the ECB, analysts say.
The Australian dollar AUD=D3 traded at $0.6550 on
Thursday, close to a seven-week high in a sign of improving risk
sentiment among some investors.
The Aussie has also benefited from the country's success in
containing coronavirus infections.
The New Zealand dollar NZD=D3 also edged to a six-week
high as economic activity returns following the end of one of
the world's strictest lockdowns related to the coronavirus.