UPDATE 1-Sterling not moved near recent highs after BoE maintains rates on hold


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* BoE votes unanimously to keep rates on hold, as expected

* Pound gained last week over confidence in Brexit

* Chart: Global exchange rates in 2018 tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh

* Chart: Trade weighted Sterling since Brexit vote tmsnrt.rs/2hwV9Hv (Updates after BoE decision, added citations, details)

LONDON, Sept 13 (Reuters) – The Bank of England's decision to keep interest rates on target has remained unchanged, with Sterling moving closer to recent highs as investors prepare for new talks with the European Union. .

The pound has traded at $ 1.3046, below a high of more than a month, at $ 1.3087, touched earlier this week and slightly below its course before the BoE decision.

Against the euro, the pound sterling was stable at 89.09 pence.

The BoE Monetary Policy Committee voted 9 to 9 to leave interest rates at 0.75%, a month after tightening the policy for only the second time since the 2009 financial crisis.

"The main message is that they wait and see the mode," said Lee Hardman, an analyst at MUFG. "They acknowledged that recent (economic) data was stronger than expected," but the bank will want to wait until Britain and the EU reach a trade deal after Brexit before adjusting again politics.

Most economists do not expect a further rate hike before Britain leaves the EU in March 2019.

After the rate decision, the UK government bond futures collapsed and briefly hit the lows of 121.68, but they quickly returned to 121.78, about 10 ticks. Gilding yields have changed little.

The FTSE 100 stock index, heavy for exporters, briefly prolonged the losses after the decision on rates, but quickly reversed the trend, still slightly in the red.

After a sharp decline in August, the pound has strengthened in recent days, hoping that Brussels and London will reach an agreement on their future trade relations.

However, this progress was tempered by renewed uncertainty about Prime Minister Theresa May's ability to convince members of her conservative party to demand a sharper break with the EU in support of her Brexit proposals.

The BoE said the financial markets had reported greater uncertainty about the Brexit since the bank's last meeting in early August.

The pound jumped on almost all Brexit-related stocks last week.

Britain will release on Thursday additional advice to businesses and the public on how to deal with the disruption caused by the departure of the EU without a divorce agreement.

"Sterling was pushed by all Brexit news. In my opinion, before the meeting in Salzburg (European leaders), I would not be surprised to see more positive noise from the EU, "said Dean Turner, an economist at UBS Wealth Management.

"The key thing to watch for is that, if we get a summit in November (EU), which is currently the subject of rumors, this should be another positive signal for the pound sterling."

Prior to Thursday's BoE decision, the implied volatility of the British pound – gauges of expected price swings – retreated after hitting Wednesday its highest level in seven months. (Report by Saikat Chatterjee and Tommy Wilkes Additional Feature by Dhara Ranasinghe, Andy Bruce and Helen Reid Edited by John Stonestreet and David Stamp)

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