LONDON, Feb 19 Reuters The pound edged slightly higher on Monday after falling last week, as investors waited for new impetus from survey data on Thursday.

Sterling was last up 0.12 at 1.2615 after slipping 0.25 last week. U.S. markets are closed for the Presidents39; Day holiday, with trading volumes likely to be low throughout the day.

Meanwhile, the euro was 0.1 lower against the pound at 85.42 pence.

The single currency fell to a sixmonth low against sterling of 84.98 pence last week after UK wage data beat expectations, boosting the pound. But it then rose again when the pound fell after UK inflation figures came in lower than expected.

Chris Turner, global head of markets at ING, said currencies were likely to continue to be relatively quiet until central banks start cutting interest rates later in the year.

Volatility in FX markets derives from volatility in interest rate markets, and because policy expectations are now sort of flat for the time being, we39;re not getting that source of volatility.

The surveybased purchasing managers39; index data, released on Thursday, will give a sense of the health of the UK economy in February.

Investors currently expect around 70 basis points of interest rate cuts from the Bank of England this year, down from around 110 at the start of February. They see a roughly 55 chance that the first BoE cut comes by June.

BoE chief economist Huw Pill said late on Friday that progress on inflation had so far been quite modest….