Sterling steadied against the euro on Thursday after hitting an eight-month low the previous day as investors trimmed exposure to carry trades investing in high-yielding currencies like the pound. Major currencies have stabilised after a recent sell-off in high-return assets as stocks rebounded and investors paused to assess the climate for risk.
Sterling was still suffering a mild bout of unwinding of carry trades as it had been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the strategy with British interest rates at 5.25 percent. "Cable hasn't done much. I think it's difficult to say (unwinding) is over... Today's a bit of a dead day as people are still nervous about which way it will break," Naeem Wahid, currency strategist at HBOS Treasury Services. By 1515 GMT, sterling was unchanged on the day at $1.9350, and steady at 68.35 pence per euro.
The pound was slightly higher on the day at 226.92 yen after a sell-off took it to a 5-month low earlier this month. The Bank of England said in a survey Britons' expectations of future inflation remained steady at the series high in February. The quarterly survey showed median expectations for the rate of inflation over the coming year stood at 2.7 percent.
The central bank's inflation target is 2.0 percent but inflation has been above this level since last May. BoE Monetary Policy Committee member Andrew Sentance speaks in Edinburgh later.