* Dollar stays under pressure after Fed's rate cut
* Greenback within sight of 13-year low vs yen
* BOJ expected to cut rates this week after Fed move
By Satomi Noguchi
TOKYO, Dec 18 (Reuters) - The dollar held steady against other major currencies on Thursday but stayed under pressure near its weakest level in more than 13 years versus the yen after the Federal Reserve's dramatic interest rate cut.
The euro held its gains from the previous day above $1.44 after the U.S. central bank slashed rates to virtually zero, further widening the interest rate differential in favour of the euro zone currency.
"The euro's jump against the dollar was much more than expected, even after considering the widening interest rate gap," said Minoru Shioiri, chief manager of forex trading at Mitsubishi UFJ Securities.
"The reasons behind this may be a mixture of factors including the impact of the Fed's unprecedented move weakening the dollar, as some players suspect, and technical factors such as charts," Shioiri said.
The euro was nearly flat from late New York trade on Wednesday at $1.4402 after surging as high as $1.4440, a 2-1/2-month high.
Against the yen, the euro dropped 0.1 percent to 125.67 yen, off Wednesday's high of 126.80 yen.
The dollar was little changed at 87.30 yen, but stayed in sight of 87.13 yen hit on Wednesday, the lowest since mid-1995.
The bold rate cut by the U.S. central bank has ratcheted up the pressure on a reluctant Bank of Japan to follow suit this week, with economists saying to hold back would rock Japanese markets and worsen the crisis.
The BOJ starts its two-day policy meeting later in the day.
Two-thirds of economists expect the BOJ to cut interest rates this week, and most of them see rates coming down to 0.10 percent from the current 0.30 percent in the overnight call rate, which is now higher than Fed's target of zero to 0.25 percent.
Japanese government officials have pushed the BOJ to take more action and voiced concern about a rising yen. Traders said the impact of any BOJ rate cut this week was unclear but it may help to slow the yen's advance. (Editing by Hugh Lawson)