March 27 Reuters Sterling edged higher on Monday, with investors39; appetite for risky assets returning as they awaited a speech from Bank of England BoE governor Andrew Bailey later in the day.

News of a buyer being found for deposits and loans at Silicon Valley Bank in the U.S. cast an uneasy calm over markets on Monday, which have been shaken recently by fears of a credit crunch and systemic bank stress.

ING analysts said Bailey39;s words would be weighed very carefully by markets given that the March BoE meeting did not include a press conference.

Sterling rose 0.16 against the euro to 87.85 pence per euro and 0.2 versus the dollar to 1.2252.

The greenback was steady on Monday, while the yen hovered near a sevenweek peak as traders assessed authorities39; moves to respond to concerns over the global banking system.

The British central bank raised interest rates last week but said a surprise resurgence in inflation would fade fast, prompting speculation it had ended its run of hikes.

Britain39;s fiscal policy concerns are no longer an issue after British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak restored confidence among investors. Still, markets remained cautious about the pound in the face of a dovish BoE.

Most analysts see the BoE pausing in May, but some expect additional tightening to be required as the central bank39;s priority remains controlling inflation over banking uncertainty.

On balance, we retain our existing BoE view rates on hold for around a year before 75bp…