LONDON: Sterling traded just off 18-month highs to the euro on Monday, with investors looking to jobs, wage and housing data for fresh direction after a buffetting following European Central Bank policy action last week.
The euro has largely held its ground since the ECB took a series of steps aimed at supporting growth and increasing the volume of euros in circulation in the economy last Thursday.
"We are in a kind of no-man's land at the moment," said Lee Hardman, a currency strategist with Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi-UTJ in London. "Ultimately our view is the moves by the ECB were modestly negative for the euro but it will probably take until later this year for the downward pressure on it to build."
The prospect of the Bank of England raising rates well before its peers in Europe and the United States is at the heart of sterling's surge over the past year, reflecting an economy that is doing better than many.
But the halt a month ago in the currency's march higher against the dollar underlines the doubts as to whether there is much juice left in that trade for investors.
The euro was up less than 0.1 percent at 81.13 pence , unchanged from levels seen late in London trading on Friday.
Against the dollar, sterling inched 0.1 percent higher to $1.6819.
Hardman said he would rather be short euros against sterling than against the dollar, but he also suggested wage and house price figures later this week could have the potential to weaken the pound.
"We have seen some more signs of slowing momentum in the housing markets," he said. "That is obviously a key concern for financial stability in the UK."
Some others in the market also back the pound against the euro, but there are few such recommendations against the dollar.
"There is no data anywhere today, with US retail sales Thursday and UK unemployment Wednesday the main news to come," said Kit Juckes, a strategist with French bank Societe Generale in London.
"We like being short of the euro against the Norwegian crown, the pound, the zloty and the Turkish lira." A report on house prices from surveyors body RICS is also due on Wednesday.
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