SINGAPORE, April 26 Reuters The Swedish crown softened on Wednesday after the country39;s central bank was less hawkish than expected, while the euro and pound rebounded, having suffered a day earlier as jitters about the U.S. banking sector helped the safehaven dollar.

The euro rose 0.8 against the crown to 11.401, set for its biggest oneday gain since early March. The dollar, which traded down 0.7 against the crown before the Riksbank39;s decision, was up 0.4 at 10.347.

Sweden39;s central bank raised its policy rate by half a percentage point to 3.50 in line with market forecasts, and said expected a further hike at its upcoming meeting in June or in September, but two deputy governors voted for a smaller hike.

For the market, what was more important than the 50 basis point hike was the updated guidance that shows the Riksbank is still relatively cautious over the need for further tightening from here, said Lee Hardman senior currency analyst at MUFG, pointing to the comment that next hike is expected in either June or September.

Also the fact two deputy governors favoured a smaller hike plays into the idea that the Riksbank is planning on stepping down the pace, he said.

Elsewhere, the euro rose 0.4 against the dollar to 1.1019 and the pound rose 0.38 1.2457 both rebounding from slightly larger falls a day earlier.

The dollar index , which measures the currency against six major rivals, was down 0.25 at 101.56 after a 0.5 increase Tuesday, as it benefited from…