The Norwegian Krona surged in Thursday trading in London after Norges Bank took a decidedly hawkish turn and not only raised its benchmark rate to 1% from 0.75% but hinted that there would likely be more rate hikes in store as the country's economy improved. The Swiss National Bank announced it would maintain its dovish outlook and held rates at the current level of 0.75%. Analysts believe that Norges Bank is setting the stage for at least one more rate increase before October 2019.
As reported at 11:41 am (GMT) in London, the USD/NOK was trading at 8.4332 Krone, down 0.0593%; the pair earlier hit a session trough of 0.84116 Krone, while the high was recorded at 8.50892 Krone. The USD/CHF was trading at 0.9939 Swiss Francs, a gain of 0.2694% while the EUR/CHF was trading at 1.132 Swiss Francs, down 0.0247%.
Central Banks' Outlook Differs
That Norges Bank stance was in marked contrast to the dovish posturing of most of the globe's major central banks, including the US Federal Reserve and European Central Bank. Yesterday, the Fed maintained its Prime rate at the 2.5% level but expressed an unexpectedly dovish outlook. The EUR/USD was trading lower at $1.1388, down 0.3029%; the pair has ranged from a trough of $1.13586 to a high of $1.14373 in today's trading session. The Bank of England is also expected to hold the status quo when it announces its rate decision today.