By Rae Wee

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The British pound was broadly stable on Thursday ahead of the Bank of England’s (BoE) late-day interest rate decision, while the dollar fell on anticipation of fresh market catalysts.

After the holidays in the United States, currency rates remained in narrow ranges, and investors paid attention not only to the decisions of the BoE, but also to the decisions of central banks in Switzerland and Norway.

Sterling last bought at $1.2719 after rising slightly in the previous session, while the euro rose 0.03% to $1.0747.

The dollar fell 0.05% against the yen to 157.99, although the Japanese currency remained not far from a more than one-month low of 158.255 per dollar hit last week.

Against a basket of currencies, the dollar was little changed at 105.23, slightly off last week’s monthly high.

The BoE is widely expected to keep interest rates steady on Thursday, with attention focusing on any hints about how quickly the easing cycle might begin.

While Wednesday’s data showed British inflation returned to the 2% target in May for the first time in almost three years, details of the report pointed to persistent price pressure, ruling out the possibility of an early rate cut.

“There is no doubt that they will keep interest rates unchanged,” said Tony Sycamore, market analyst at IG. “The headline inflation data probably provided some relief, but there were again positive surprises in services.

“They could potentially open the door at the next meeting, but I still think we’re two meetings away from a potential rate cut at that meeting.”

However, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) is expected to cut its key interest rate by 25 basis points for the second time in a row, and the recent strengthening of the Swiss franc and bland domestic inflation further support the easing of monetary conditions.

The last one was 0.8840 per dollar and oscillated near the highest level in three months.

The Swiss franc similarly remained near a four-month high of 0.94785 per euro reached in the previous session as the single currency continues to come under pressure from political turmoil in France and across the bloc.

“The Swiss is doing quite well against the euro and inflation in Switzerland is coming down, so again the strength of the Swiss doesn’t fit with the view that you want to push inflation up a little bit,” said Rodrigo Catril , senior currency strategist at National Australia Bank (OTC:).

Elsewhere, the dollar rose 0.01% to $0.6673, while the New Zealand dollar was flat at $0.6131.

Thursday’s data showed New Zealand’s economy grew faster than expected in the first quarter but remained feeble. This did not slightly change the market’s views on the prospects for interest rates in the country.