* Sterling edges down from Nov. 1 peak vs dollar * Pound steady vs euro within 81.65-79.60 pence range * CBI orders show December improvement By Philip Baillie LONDON, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Sterling pulled back from a recent six-week high against the dollar on Thursday as investors took some profits after the U.S. Federal Reserve announced a new round of monetary stimulus. Some strategists said sterling could strengthen against the dollar in coming weeks, however, if Bank of England policymakers hold off from signalling further easing in Britain. Sterling dipped 0.1 percent to $1.6131, retreating from a six-week high of $1.6173 hit on Wednesday after the Fed said it would bolster its quantitative easing programme by $45 billion a month, on top of $40 billion the Fed is already buying in mortgage-backed securities. The pound has rallied more than 2 percent against the dollar in the last month as markets positioned for more asset-purchasing from the Fed, prompting some investors to take profit on earlier bets that the pound would rise. "Sterling/dollar rallied from (around) $1.58 on Nov. 15 to $1.6172 yesterday so there was probably a little profit-taking," said Ned Rumpeltin, Head of G-10 FX strategy at Standard Chartered. Rumpeltin said the dollar's recovery after the initial Fed announcement suggested markets were getting less sensitive to the major central banks printing money, which tends to weigh on a currency by boosting supply. Although the extra $45 billion a month announced by the Fed was in line with expectations, policymakers surprised markets by explicitly linking its policy path to unemployment and inflation. Some strategists said there was now scope for sterling to rally against the dollar if the BoE decides to hold off from more easing for the time being. "Buying $85 billion of assets ... is definitely more aggressive than QE2," said Chris Turner, head of FX strategy at ING, referring to the Fed's previous bond-buying scheme. "It depends on how the Bank of England reacts but in the interim the pressure is for the dollar to weaken and sterling/dollar to push up to $1.63 by the end of December." UK ECONOMY SEEN FRAGILE The euro was last flat at 80.96 pence, holding within the range roughly between 81.65 and 79.60 pence that it has traded in since October. Strategists said the euro could gain some support after the European Union agreed to make the European Central Bank the bloc's banking supervisor. Data showed British factory orders rose above their long-run average this month, though there was little reaction in sterling. Investors will also focus on UK finance minister George Osborne's evidence to a parliamentary committee on his mid-year budget statement later in the session. Osborne downgraded growth forecasts and said the country will miss debt-cutting goals in his Autumn Statement last week, raising concerns the UK will lose its prized AAA credit rating. Strategists said moves in euro/sterling were likely to be dominated by developments in the euro zone in coming months. Markets are waiting to see whether Spain will apply for aid, triggering the European Central Bank's bond-buying scheme that is seen as providing a backstop to peripheral debt markets. In a 2013 outlook Morgan Stanley said euro/sterling would hit 83 pence in the first quarter of 2013 on condition the bond-buying scheme is implemented, before dropping back towards 78 pence by the end of the year.

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