Pound falls broadly; Bank's Besley comments weigh

LONDON (Reuters) - Sterling fell across the board on Thursday, hitting a three-week low against the euro, dented by dovish comments from a Bank of England policymaker and ongoing concerns about the UK economy.

Investors were also cautious ahead of key U.S. employment data, which helped keep currencies seen as higher risk such as sterling under selling pressure.

Bank of England policymaker Tim Besley said it was too early to judge when the central bank will need to start withdrawing the massive stimulus it has delivered to the UK economy.

Meanwhile, a purchasing managers' survey on UK construction activity showed a modest deepening in contraction in the sector, with the index falling to 44.5 in June.

Analysts said Besley's comments and the PMI data helped weigh on sterling, but noted market attention is focussed on the U.S. non-farm payrolls figure due at 1:30 p.m., which will be eyed for clues on the health of the U.S. economy.

Sterling has been hampered since data on Tuesday revealed a much steeper-than-expected 2.4 percent contraction in the UK economy in the first quarter.

"There is a bit of risk aversion ahead of the U.S. payrolls data, which is causing a pullback in stocks and helping to weigh on sterling," Bank of Scotland Treasury currency strategist Naeem Wahid said.

He noted, however, that although it is on the weak side the UK currency remains confined to its recent ranges against the dollar between around $1.62 and $1.66.

A brief break above that range to an eight-month high of $1.6745 on Tuesday was quickly quashed after the weak GDP data.