Currencies - Dollar rises, pound, euro, Swiss franc drop

The dollar index, which tracks the currency against six peers, was last up 0.23 percent at 105.49 after a volatile 10 days that has seen mixed signals from the U.S. economy and European markets rocked by French political uncertainty.

Sterling slipped 0.3 percent to $1.2679 after the BoE voted 7-2 to keep its main interest rate unchanged, but some policymakers said their decision not to cut was “finely balanced”.

The dollar, meanwhile, climbed 0.85 percent to 0.8917 francs as the Swiss currency fell from around a three-month high in the wake of the rate cut, which came with forecasts predicting a further fall in inflation to 1.1 percent in 2025.

Elsewhere, the Norwegian crown rose to a four-month high against the euro after the Norges Bank held rates at a 16-year high of 4.25 percent.

The euro fell to its lowest since late January against the crown at 11.2777. It was last down 0.5 percent.

The euro was on the back foot again on Thursday, down 0.21 percent against the dollar to $1.0719 but still above the six-week low of $1.0667 hit on Friday.

Japan’s yen fell to its lowest since April 29, when Japanese authorities launched their latest round of intervention to prop up the currency. The dollar rose as high as 158.47 yen, but was last up 0.27 percent to 158.51.