Sterling steadies below two-week highs versus dollar

LONDON: Sterling steadied on Wednesday close to two-week highs versus the dollar, with the pound taking its cue from other currencies given this week is light on data and Bank of England speakers.

The pound was last trading at $1.3756, unchanged on the day and below two-week highs reached on Tuesday of $1.3807.

Against the euro the pound was also little moved, trading at 85.855 pence.

Last week's Jackson Hole symposium, at which Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell sounded a more dovish tone on the outlook for monetary policy than expected, led to further selling in the dollar, supporting the pound's move higher.

But currency market moves were very small on Wednesday as investors took stock at the start of a new month and ahead of US jobs data due at the end of this week.

Analysts said they saw little immediate movement in the pound versus the euro, which had strengthened on Tuesday after one European Central Bank policymaker was quoted as saying that the bank was in a position to think about dialling back its pandemic-era stimulus.

"There is still much doubt about what the ECB will do next (our team favours dovish settings retained), while the Bank of England is more formally looking to get the tightening cycle underway - probably in late 2022," said analysts at ING.

"A greater chance for EUR/GBP to break higher probably comes later in the month when extensions on Northern Ireland trade adjustments expire and the mood music between London and Brussels could deteriorate once again."

The Purchasing Managers Index survey for the manufacturing sector in August came in slightly better than the flash numbers published previously and confirmed that British factory output grew at the weakest rate for six months as supply chain problems weighed, but the pound did not budge.