* Sterling falls to $1.5565 GBP=D4, weakest since July 30 * Dollar extends rally on mounting econ concerns * Pound touches 6-week high vs euro, then reverses LONDON, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Sterling hit a near two-week low against a broadly firmer dollar on Thursday after an early rally petered out as concerns about the global economy prompted investors to pull back from riskier assets. The dollar extended gains after an unexpected rise in weekly U.S. jobless claims, which rose to its highest level in close to six months, underscoring a weak job market. [ID:nN11227633] Sterling fell against the dollar in tandem with the euro, which was hurt as lower-than-expected Greek growth and jobs data [ID:nLDE67B17N] renewed concerns about euro zone peripheral countries, and on poor euro zone industrial orders. [ID:nLDE67B0S3] By 1515 GMT, sterling GBP=D4 fell 0.3 percent from late U.S. trade on Wednesday to $1.5572, after dropping to $1.5565, its lowest since July 30. Selling by a custodial player as well as from an Asian official account helped push the pair to its lows, traders said. "Sterling took something of a breather against the dollar this morning as people were thinking the move had already gone a long way, but it was just a brief pause, and if euro/dollar is trading lower then the risk is that sterling will too," said Tom Levinson, currency strategist at ING. Against the euro, the pound retreated from a six-week high of around 82.04 pence, and was last down 0.3 percent at 82.45 pence per euro EURGBP=D4. The pound fell 1.4 percent against the dollar on Wednesday as the greenback surged, and as the Bank of England cut its growth forecasts and predicted inflation would stay below target over the medium term, leaving the door open for more quantitative easing. That marked sterling's biggest daily percentage loss since mid-May and took it well away from six-month highs reached on Friday just shy of $1.60. Sterling's falls may now pave the way towards its 200-day moving average, which currently stands around $1.5515. Resistance was forming around $1.57, a previous low. Steps taken by the Federal Reserve on Tuesday to revive the U.S. economy boosted safe-haven flows into the dollar and dented perceived riskier currencies as investors judged a U.S. slowdown would impact the global economy. "The BoE's downward revisions and the statement that it could do more QE did weigh on sterling, but it is the dollar that has dominated trade," said Geraldine Concagh, economist at AIB Group Treasury in Dublin. "For the next day or two moves will be determined by market sentiment and equity direction." (Reporting by Tamawa Desai and Jessica Mortimer; Editing by Ron Askew)

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