UPDATE 2-Danish June forex reserves rise, rates seen steady
COPENHAGEN, July 2 (Reuters) - Denmark's foreign exchange reserves rose by 5.0 billion crowns to 330.3 billion ($62.59 billion) in June against economists' expectation of no change, central bank data showed on Thursday.
The central bank, whose main lending rate stands at 1.55 percent, signalled no change in interest rates. Economists also said the modest rise in forex reserves suggested there would be no change for the time being.
A Reuters survey of six economists gave a central estimate for foreign exchange reserves to remain steady at 325.3 billion crowns, unchanged from May. The numbers exclude central government foreign loan transactions.
Denmark belongs to the European Union but not the euro zone. Its long-standing policy of maintaining a stable crown against the euro means that the central bank shifts key interest rates for the sole purpose of keeping the crown around its central parity of 7.46038 per euro.
The central bank's net purchases of foreign exchange -- which includes items such as interest accrued on the reserves and changes in banks' euro-denominated deposits at the Nationalbank -- totalled 8.2 billion crowns in June, and the central government repaid 3.3 billion in foreign debt.
'In June ... Nationalbank's net purchase of foreign exchange due to intervention in the foreign exchange market amounted to 6.7 billion crowns,' the central bank said in a statement.