* BoJ signals more easing later this year
* Dollar struggles to gain on Fed's mixed messages
* Norway's crown briefly rallies after cbank hikes rates
* Graphic: World FX rates in 2019 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
(Adds details after Norges bank meeting, latest prices)
By Tommy Wilkes and Saikat Chatterjee
LONDON, Sept 19 (Reuters) - The Swiss franc rallied against
its major peers on Thursday and is on track to post its biggest
daily jump versus the greenback in a month after the Swiss
National Bank declined to match the European Central Bank and
the U.S. Fed in easing policy.
The SNB kept its policy rate unchanged at -0.75%, as
expected by most analysts in a Reuters poll. It maintained the
rate it charges on the excess cash it holds for commercial banks
at -0.75%, though it raised the threshold at which the negative
rate charges kick in. "The SNB was a surprise and they will focus on FX
intervention," said Kenneth Broux, a strategist at Societe
Generale based in London.
"The announcement on the threshold indicates a greater
effort to offset the negative rate impact on bank
profitability."
The franc jumped half a percent against the greenback to
$0.9908 and rallied more than 1% versus the Australian dollar, a
currency pair typically favoured by hedge funds.
Even the Norwegian crown briefly rallied after the central
bank raised its main interest rate by a quarter percentage point
as expected but said further policy tightening had become less
likely amid a global slowdown. Against the dollar, NOK= the crown which had gained 0.2%
after the decision, erased gains and was broadly flat on the day
at 8.94 crowns per dollar.
Elsewhere, the Japanese yen held on to earlier gains after
the Bank of Japan kept interest rates on hold, while the dollar
struggled to move higher despite the Federal Reserve offering
mixed signals about the path for further easing.
The Bank of Japan kept monetary policy steady - as expected
- and signalled the chance of expanding stimulus as early as its
next policy meeting in October by issuing a stronger warning
over the risks threatening the economy. The yen rose to as high as 107.79 yen per dollar before
settling at 108.06 JPY=EBS , up 0.4% on the day.
The dollar dipped slightly against a basket of currencies,
as it struggled to gain despite a more hawkish than forecast
tone from Wednesday's Federal Reserve meeting.
The U.S. central bank, on a 7-3 vote, lowered the Fed funds
target rate to a range of 1.75% to 2.00% "in light of the
implications of global developments for the economic outlook".
The Australian dollar AUD=D3 had its worst day in a month
as expectations for more central bank rate cuts leapt after
joblessness hit a one-year high. The Aussie dropped 0.7% to a two-week low of $0.6782.
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Norway's crown vs euro https://tmsnrt.rs/31AQqIv
SNB https://tmsnrt.rs/3094tHD
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