Sterling rises above 1.30, highest in a year
UK inflation data cuts chances of August rate cut
Growth, inflation and govt finances key to further currency gains

LONDON, July 17 Reuters The pound hit its highest in a year on Wednesday, driven by investors who are scrambling for juicier returns as global interest rates start to fall, but strategists say it will take more than higher rates for sterling to retain that sparkle.

Data on Wednesday showed UK inflation is proving more stubborn than many expected, prompting traders to axe their bets on an August rate cut and sending the pound above 1.30 for the first time since last July .

Unlike the euro and even the dollar, the pound has not been shaken by domestic politics, but rather has got a boost from a new government that many hope will be able to draw a line under years of unpredictable policies and volatile UK markets.

Growth in Britain has also started to improve. On Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund raised its estimate of UK economic growth to 0.7 this year, from 0.5 in its last set of global forecasts in April.

But at the heart of this latest leg higher in the pound is the belief that British interest rates will take longer to decline than those elsewhere.

Many big central banks have started cutting rates. The Bank of England and the U.S. Federal Reserve are among the last dominoes standing, although the most recent signals from the latter are that September is crystallising as the starting point for…