* Fed Chairman Powell sounds positive on U.S. economy
* Dollar holds overnight gains
* Safety buying, BoJ steadiness lifts yen
* Aussie sold after soft data spurs easing expectations
By Tom Westbrook
SINGAPORE, Sept 19 (Reuters) - The dollar found broadsupport on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interestrates, as expected, but offered mixed signals about futureeasing, while weak employment figures hit the Australiancurrency.
The greenback gained against major currencies except for theJapanese yen, which posted its sharpest daily rise inalmost a month on some safe-haven buying. The Bank of Japan alsomet expectations by holding off on deeper monetaryeasing.
"There's such a lack of certainty on a number of fronts,"said Nick Twidale, co-founder of Sydney-based trade financeprovider Xchainge, citing dollar liquidity tightness and thegloomy outlook for global growth.
"I think we will see more dovish central banks still."
The biggest loser on that front was the Australian dollar, which had its worst day in a month as expectations formore central bank rate cuts leapt after joblessness hit aone-year high.
The Reserve Bank of Australia has been focusing on thelabour market for clues as to whether another round of easing isnecessary.
The Aussie dropped 0.6% to a two-week low of $0.6782 on thegreenback and fell by a percentage point on the yen.
"With the economy growing at the slowest annual growth ratein a decade and jobs being lost in the construction sector...itappears that additional policy stimulus will be required," saidRyan Felsman, a senior economist at the Commonwealth Bank ofAustralia, which now expects a rate cut next month.
The New Zealand dollar briefly jumped 0.2% afterJune-quarter gross domestic product landed higher thanexpectations, before being swamped by a rising greenback andexpectations of monetary easing in New Zealand.
The dollar was steady against the euro, standing at$1.1034, and flat against the British pound, at $1.2469,after overnight gains.
The yen's 0.5% gain to 107.77 per dollar, after touching aseven-week low overnight, was its biggest daily rise since Aug.23.
The moves came after the U.S. central bank, on a 7-3 vote,said it had lowered the Fed funds target rate on Wednesday to arange of 1.75% to 2.00% "in light of the implications of globaldevelopments for the economic outlook."
However, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell described U.S. prospectsas "favourable" and the rate move as "insurance." He did notrule out future cuts, but his remarks were not as dovish asmarkets had hoped for which lifted bond yields and the dollar.
Projections published by the Fed showed policymakersexpected rates to stay within the new range through 2020, whilefutures markets have priced in at least another cut.
"In the short term, this hawkish cut should still see thedollar well-bid, given that the path of interest rates outlinedby the Fed is not close to that priced into the markets," saidJohn Veils, Americas FX and macro strategist at BNY Mellon.
"The USD is still the highest-yielding currency in the G10world, a sign that it is also the least unattractive house in anincreasingly blighted neighbourhood."(Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Sam Holmes)