LONDON, April 12 — Sterling held steady against the dollar and dipped against the euro today as traders waited for key US inflation data as well as comments from Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey.

The pound was flat at US$1.24155 (RM5.48), not far off a 10-month high of US$1.2525 hit early last week, as currency markets broadly were quiet ahead of the release of the US consumer price index for March.

The data will be a major input for Federal Reserve policy markers as they debate whether to raise US rates further at their meeting in March.

More Britain-specifically, Bailey is due to speak later, with traders keeping their eyes out for guidance on whether the BOE is ready to pause its rate hike cycle.

Market pricing currently indicates around a 75 per cent chance of one more 25 basis point hike.

"GBP/USD can be sensitive to comments from BoE officials on the outlook for inflation and monetary policy because the BoE’s tightening cycle is likely near its end," said Kristina Clifton, FX strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

However she added that US CPI and its impact on the dollar were likely to be the main driver for the pound against the dollar.

Better-than-feared economic data this year has helped the pound be the best G10 performer against the US dollar both simply because of improved economic prospects but also because it means the Bank of England cannot rely on a slowdown to rein in inflation.

The euro rose 0.22 per cent against the pound to 88.05 pence, its strongest in just over a week.— Reuters