* Dollar edges down vs euro but still near post-Fed levels
* Fed: no change on debt buying, deflation less of a threat
* Dollar off peaks vs Swissie made on SNB intervention
* Yen falls vs euro, dollar and Aussie
By Charlotte Cooper
TOKYO, June 25 (Reuters) - The dollar on Thursday edged off
stronger levels hit after the Federal Reserve meeting, while the
yen fell as the market weighed up whether to resume rallies in
riskier assets.
The Fed kept to its debt buyback programme and signalled it
was less concerned about deflation, but it also said inflation
would remain subdued for some time and interest rates would stay
low for an extended period. []
A poll of top institutions that do business directly with the
central bank showed after the decision that the Fed was unlikely
to raise interest rates until 2010 or later, though the recession
would end this year. []
On Wednesday, the dollar also got a boost after traders
reported that the Swiss National Bank intervened by selling the
Swiss franc for dollars and euros, which sent the dollar up
nearly 3 percent against the franc and lifted it across the
board. []
But the greenback ran out of steam by Thursday, inching lower
against a basket of six currencies <.DXY>, although it gained
against the yen as the Japanese currency was sold as well against
the euro and the Australian dollar.
"The markets have been in risk-avoidance mode recently, but
that seems to have been reversed in the last 24 hours," said Drew
Bradford, head of foreign exchange at Deutsche Bank in Tokyo.
The dollar climbed 0.6 percent to 96.23 yen <JPY=> although
it remained well within its recent 93-100 yen range.
The euro edged up 0.2 percent to $1.3964 <EUR=>, after
falling 1 percent against the dollar on Wednesday.
But it was still well below Wednesday's pre-Fed high of
$1.4139, when the market sold dollars on the view that the U.S.
central bank would try to dampen higher rate expectations.
MIXED REACTION
Views were mixed as to what the Fed's statement meant for the
market in the medium term, with some expecting bets on gains in
riskier currencies such as the Australian dollar to dwindle, as
the rallies had got ahead of economic recovery. Others said if
equity markets picked up again, riskier currencies would follow.
Many had expected Fed policy-makers would try to neutralise
growing expectations for higher interest rates, to prevent a rise
in borrowing rates from choking off recovery, but the statement
was less explicit than some expected.
"The Fed basically left things unchanged. Although it eased
worries about deflation slightly, it didn't change the time frame
or the size of its debt purchases," said Daisuke Uno, chief
strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp.
"What will ultimately happen seems to be the dollar being
sold, while interest rates keep rising and stock prices fall
after the Fed didn't express concerns about rising interest rates
at the meeting."
RISK-TAKERS TRY THE UPSIDE, YEN FALLS
Traders said the currency market mostly shrugged off comments
on the dollar from China and Japan on Thursday.
A researcher with the ruling Communist Party said China
should buy more gold as the dollar was poised for a fall, while
Japan's finance minister reiterated his support for Washington's
strong-dollar policy, saying it benefited not only the U.S. but
countries around the world. [] []
Tokyo's Nikkei share average <> climbed 2.2 percent for
its strongest one-day percentage gain in more than a month, after
falling sharply earlier in the week and as the Fed statement
provided no surprises for stocks.
Analysts said there was some short-covering on dollar/yen
after it failed to break below a three-week low at 94.88 yen this
week, coupled with yen selling by Japanese importers to secure
dollars for their payments as the month draws to a close.
Talk of Japanese investment fund outflows has also been
keeping a floor under yen crosses this week.
Four new Japanese investment trusts launched on Wednesday,
all managed by Nomura Asset Management, attracted a combined
119.6 billion yen ($1.25 bln) in funds, data compiled by Reuters
showed, and more are expected before the end of the month.
The euro gained 0.8 percent to 134.28 yen <EURJPY=R>.
The Australian dollar, which has been a popular trade as
riskier assets such as shares have rallied, rose 1 percent to
76.99 yen <AUDJPY=> and gained 0.5 percent to $0.8002 <AUD=D4>.
Japanese capital flows data showed Japanese investors were
net buyers of foreign bonds to the tune of 278 billion yen ($2.89
billion) last week, the seventh week running in which they have
been net buyers. But the amount was the lowest for four weeks,
coinciding with a rebound in the yen. []
The dollar edged 0.3 percent down to 1.0953 Swiss francs
<CHF=> after a one-month high at 1.1026 on trading platform EBS
on Wednesday.
(Additional reporting by Aiko Hayashi and Satomi Noguchi;
Editing by Hugh Lawson)
