(Updates after BoE decision at 1118 GMT)

By Harry Robertson

LONDON, June 20 (Reuters) - The dollar climbed on

Thursday, while the Swiss franc and the pound dropped as a busy

day of central bank meetings kept currency traders alert.

The dollar index, which tracks the currency against

six peers, was last up 0.2% at 105.42 after a volatile 10 days

that has seen mixed signals from the U.S. economy and European

markets rocked by French political uncertainty.

Helping the U.S. currency climb was a drop in the pound

after the Bank of England policy announcement, and the Swiss

franc after the Swiss National Bank lowered interest rates to

1.25%, following a cut in March.

Sterling slipped 0.2% to $1.2691 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 pound is trading lower on the 'finely balanced'

comment," said Neil Jones, senior FX sales to financial

institutions at TJM Europe.

"This is clearly a dovish hold. The narrative from Bailey

suggests for some, they are close to cutting."

The dollar, meanwhile, climbed 0.6% to 0.8894 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% in 2025.

"Given the appreciation of the franc in the context of the

French political turbulence, we had expected a dovish message,

but not a cut," said Christian Schulz, deputy chief European

economist at Citi.

"This cut could be premature if French politics stabilise

and weakens the franc," he said. The franc is seen as a safe

haven and had risen over the last week.

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%.

The euro fell to its lowest since late January against the

crown at 11.2777. It was last down 0.5%.

Volatility in currency markets has picked up over the last

10 days as political uncertainty in Europe has combined with the

long-standing guessing game about central bank rate cuts to

cause investors new problems.

The U.S. dollar rallied last week while the euro tumbled to

its lowest since May 1 as markets fretted that French President

Emmanuel Macron's gamble to call parliamentary elections could

pave the way for the high-spending far right or far left to come

to power.

Markets have been more placid this week. The dollar dipped

after data on Tuesday showed U.S. retail sales were lower than

expected in May, adding to some signs that the economy is

slowing and could allow the Federal Reserve to cut interest

rates in September. However, separate data showed manufacturing

production surged last month.

The euro was on the back foot again on Thursday,

down 0.16% against the dollar to $1.07285 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 0.2% to 158.41.

The country's top currency diplomat Masato Kanda said there

is no limit to the resources available for foreign exchange

interventions, according to Jiji News Agency.