The British pound strengthened against other major currencies in the European session on Friday, after the Bank of England policymaker Gertjan Vlieghe said that the central bank's interest rates could rise in the coming months.

Speaking in London as part of the Society of Business Economists' annual conference, Gertjan Vlieghe, an external member of the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee said that rates could rise "as early as in the coming months".

"For now, it seems the net effect of the many underlying forces acting on the UK economy is that slack is continually being eroded and wage pressure is gently building," he said.

In the Asian trading today, the pound held steady against its major rivals.

In the European trading, the pound rose to a 1-year high of 1.3077 against the Swiss franc and nearly a 1-month high of 0.8774, from early lows of 1.2869 and 0.8907, respectively. If the pound extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 1.32 against the franc and 0.85 against the euro.

Against the U.S. dollar and the yen, the pound advanced to 15-month highs of 1.3616 and 151.54 from early lows of 1.3381 and 146.61, respectively. The pound is likely to find resistance around 1.37 against the greenback and 153.00 against the yen.

Looking ahead, Canada existing home sales data for August, U.S. retail sales data, and industrial production for August, U.S. University of Michigan's preliminary consumer sentiment index for September, U.S. business inventories for July, and U.S. Baker Hughes rig count data are due to be released in the New York session.

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