May 30 (Reuters) - Sterling held steady on Friday, set

for its fourth month in a row of gains against the dollar, as

recent favourable economic data support Britain's currency just

as worries over U.S. tariffs and high debt weigh on the

greenback.

"Sterling looks well supported," said Kit Juckes, chief FX

strategist at Societe Generale, pointing to "reasonably good"

data trends.

Sterling was last trading at $1.3472, little

changed on the day and down around 0.5% on the week after

gaining about 2% last week.

That leaves the pound set to end May with a gain of around

1%, which would mark a fourth straight month of increases

against a weakened greenback.

It last recorded four consecutive monthly gains against the

dollar in 2022.

The dollar, meanwhile, was en route to its fifth-straight

monthly decline on Friday, as further uncertainty around trade

policy and U.S. fiscal health weighed.

Sterling rose around 0.25% to 84.06 pence per euro.

Still, it was set for its first week of declines after six

weeks of increases as gains seen after UK retail sales and

inflation numbers last week and optimism around Britain's trade

deals with the U.S. and India faded.

Last week's stronger than expected UK inflation print

caused markets to do away with bets for a rate cut at the Bank

of England's policy meeting in June, with about 97% of traders

now anticipating that the central bank will hold rates after a

cut by 0.25 percentage points to 4.25% in May.

"The economy has not got the legs to justify a significant

strengthening (of the pound) from here," Juckes said. "I just

think it's going to frustrate all the bears, left, right, and

centre."

Further out, traders looked ahead to a multi-year spending

review by finance minister Rachel Reeves on June 11, with the

government facing the challenging task of boosting economic

growth while limiting spending and tax increases as it has

pledged.