LONDON, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Euro zone government bond

yields were muted on Thursday, a day after the Federal Reserve

kicked off its easing cycle with a larger than usual interest

rate cut but signalled policy moves would be measured through

the end of the year.

The Fed lowered its key interest rate by 50 basis points

(bps) to the 4.75%-5.00% range, when most analysts saw a

quarter-point cut as the most likely outcome.

But in flagging that they only see another 50 bps of cuts by

the end of 2024, policymakers hinted they might lower rates at a

steady pace.

"(Fed Chair Jerome) Powell clearly indicated that the FOMC

was in no rush to cut and one should not assume that 50bp is the

new pace of rate cuts," said Mohit Kumar, chief Europe economist

at Jefferies.

"The FOMC remains data dependent, but my read on Powell's

view of future cuts is that we should expect 'at most' one more

50bp cut and then the pace would move back to 25bp increments."

The size and importance of the U.S. economy means that the

Federal Reserve has an outsized influence on financial markets

and central banks globally.

Germany's 10-year yield, the euro zone's

benchmark, was up 1.5 bps to 2.208%, a 1-1/2 week high.

The two-year yield, which is more sensitive to

changes in interest rate expectations, was down 1 bp at 2.254%.

Italy's 10-year yield was 0.5 bps higher at

3.581%, and the gap between Italian and German bund yields

was at 136 bps.