Sterling steady, investors wait for key speech and data later in week

The pound held steady on Monday against both the euro and dollar, largely sitting out the latest round of tariff volatility as traders awaited a speech by hawk-turned-dove Bank of England policymaker Catherine Mann and business activity data.

The pound was last up 0.08% on the dollar at $1.2407, broadly in the middle of its recent range. GBPUSD It was also flat on the euro at 83.2 pence to the common currency. EURGBP

The bigger movers in foreign exchange markets Monday were currencies of major steel and aluminium exporters after President Donald Trump said on Sunday he would impose new 25% tariffs on imports of both metals into the U.S.

These are of less direct relevance to Britain, although moves were fairly muted anyway, and so did little to help the pound strengthen against the euro.

Later in the week there could be more news for sterling.

"It will be an interesting week for the pound given the BoE’s Mann speaks about ‘Economic Prospects’ on 11 February and the UK activity data for January on Thursday," said Paul Mackel, global head of FX research at HSBC.

Catherine Mann had been seen as the most hawkish member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee, voting to keep rates steady last year even as her peers voted for cuts. But she surprised investors last week by voting to cut rates by 50 basis points, more than most others.

The BoE cut rates by 25 basis points as expected.

"Mann said in December that a more ‘activist’ approach on the policy rate might be needed and she voted in that manner last Thursday. What does she now see to have warranted voting in favour of a 50bps reduction in the Bank Rate?" said Mackel.

"The likelihood of tepid growth numbers on Thursday could support Mann’s shift and dent the pound but would also be a frustrating reminder for the UK government."

Britain reports a raft of economic numbers Thursday, including GDP data.