• Cable trades on 1.24 handle after profit-take flow-assisted lift from 1.2361

• 1.2361 was low after GBP fell on two MPC votes for 50 bps rate cut Thursday

• Ensuing high 1.2456, during NY afternoon (1.2550 was 4-week high Wednesday)

• US jobs report due at 1330 GMT: Jan NFP f/c at 170k; jobless rate f/c 4.1%

• NFP beat could lessen risk of Fed rate cut before summer, and inflate dollar

• Bessent says strong USD policy remains intact under Trump, Bloomberg reports

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