The pound steadied Monday after briefly touching its strongest level in more than two weeks against the dollar, with investors positioning ahead of UK labour and growth data that could shape the Bank of England's next move. Sterling climbed to $1.3476, the highest since July 25, before easing to $1.3458 in London trading. The advance followed last week's quarter-point BoE rate cut to 4 per cent in a split vote, with four policymakers opting to keep policy unchanged — a sign of internal divisions over the pace of easing. Focus now shifts to Tuesday's jobs report, expected to show unemployment holding at 4.7 per cent, and Thursday's GDP print, projected to slow sharply to 0.1 per cent in the second quarter from 0.7 per cent. The pound was little changed at 86.53 pence per euro and 198.7 yen. Swaps imply an 80 per cent probability of another BoE cut by December, though the bank has signaled it will move more cautiously than the European Central Bank. Currency traders are weighing signs of softer UK growth against the potential for global dollar weakness if US inflation cools later this week. Attribution: Reuters Subediting: Y.Yasser
