Feb 19 (Reuters) - The rise in UK CPI to a 10-month high of 3.0% in January means the Bank of England will almost certainly keep interest rates unchanged next month.

The 3.0% print was higher than the 2.8% forecast by the BoE and economists, and a full percentage point higher than the BoE's target level.

Consolation for doves was found in UK services CPI printing at a lower than expected 5.0%, having been forecast at 5.2% by the BoE and a Reuters poll of economists.

The cooler than expected UK services CPI print helps explain why markets still see a BoE rate cut in May as more likely than not (a May cut would maintain the cycle of quarterly BoE cuts, a cycle which started last August).

GBP/USD climbed to a nine-week high of 1.2641 ahead of Wednesday's UK inflation data, with GBP/EUR scaling a 2025 peak by 1.21.

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(Robert Howard is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own)