LONDON, Feb 9 Reuters The pound held steady against the dollar on Friday but closed in on a seventh straight week of gains versus the euro as investors grow more convinced by the Bank of England39;s determination to keep interest rates where they are for now.

BoE policymaker Jonathan Haskel, who voted to raise interest rates last week, said he is encouraged by signs that Britain39;s inflation pressures might be on the wane but he would need more evidence of a cooldown before changing his stance.

I39;m not going to apologise for banging on about persistence because I think we39;re right to, Haskel told Reuters.

Next week brings a raft of key UK data, including consumer inflation and economic growth, all of which have the power to influence the rate outlook.

Sterling was last down 0.1 against the dollar at 1.261 and narrowly in positive territory against the euro at 85.38 pence. The pound is on track for a modest gain this week, bringing its rally against the euro to seven consecutive weeks, the longest such stretch since mid2021.

The sterling market definitely has its own thing going on right now and next week is going to be absolutely critical, Kathleen Brooks, research director for broker XTB, said.

The Bank of England, with its cries for time last week, wants to see more evidence. That means that the inflation report and the labour market report as well, are two things that are going to generate a huge amount of volatility and I think that will play out a lot…