LONDONSINGAPORE, March 23 Reuters The dollar headed for its longest losing streak in 212 years on Thursday after the Federal Reserve sounded close to calling time on interest rate hikes, while the Swiss franc edged higher after the central bank pushed ahead with another hike.

The Fed raised its benchmark funds rate by 25 basis points, as expected, but dropped language about ongoing increases being needed in favour of some additional rises, as it watches how wobbling confidence in banks affects the economy.

Futures imply around a 50 chance of one more quarterpoint hike, in contrast to Europe where markets see around 50 bps of further tightening.

The gap has sent the euro surging to a sevenweek high of 1.0930, having also risen for six straight sessions.

The shift in tone from the Fed makes it less likely that markets go back to worrying that strong economic data drives rates higher, NatWest Markets head of G10 FX strategy Brian Daingerfield said.

From the foreign exchange perspective, we think that argues for further dollar weakness as the ceiling for the Fed cycle has clearly come down, he said.

The dollar index , which measures the currency against six major peers, was last down 0.2, on track for its sixth straight daily drop, its longest such streak since September 2021.

The Swiss National Bank raised its policy rate by 50 basis points as the central bank sought to balance tackling inflation with concerns about financial market turmoil, while it reiterated it…