Pound sterling, steady vs dollar before UK inflation report hearings

The pound held steady against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday, remaining around a one-and-a-half month high as markets eyed the upcoming U.K. quarterly inflation report hearings, as well as congressional testimony by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.

GBP/USD hit 1.5474 during European morning trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.5446.

Sterling was almost unchanged against the euro, with EUR/GBP at 0.7329.

Market players remained wary as Fed Chair Janet Yellen was to testify before the Senate Banking Committee in Washington later Tuesday, with investors watching for any indication on when U.S. interest rates may start to rise.

Minutes of the Fed’s January meeting presented last week were more dovish than expected, showing that some officials thought that raising rates too soon could weigh on the U.S. economic recovery, and that a deterioration in the global economic outlook could also pose a threat.

The pound was not impacted by a report by the Confederation of British Industry on Monday showing that its index of U.K. retailers plunged by 38.0 points to a 21-month low of 1.0 in February from 39.0 in January. Analysts had expected the index to fall by 5.0 points to 34.0 this month.