* Euro, sterling steady vs dlr ahead of ECB, BoE decisions
* UK focus on whether BoE will expand QE
* Sentiment still buoyant as equities rise
* Aussie gains on surprise rise in Australian employment
By Jessica Mortimer
LONDON, Aug 6 (Reuters) - The euro and sterling were steady against the dollar on Thursday, hovering close to recent multi-month highs as market players awaited policy decisions by the European Central Bank and the Bank of England.
Caution ahead of the rate decisions prevented further gains in the currencies, though analysts said sentiment remained buoyant as European shares rose 1.1 percent.
Both the ECB and the BoE are seen leaving interest rates on hold at 1.0 and 0.5 percent respectively, though the market will be looking for whether the central banks have adopted a more optimistic tone on the economy..
Interest is expected to centre on whether the BoE will increase asset purchases under its quantitative easing programme, although analysts see this as less likely after recent better-than-expected UK data.
"The dollar is little changed against the euro and sterling, with everyone waiting to see what the central banks will do, in particular whether the BoE will increase QE," Nordea currency strategist in Copenhagen Niels Christensen said.
"There still seems to be quite an appetite for risk and people are sticking to their short dollar positions," he added.
The BoE will announce its rate decision at 1100 GMT, while the ECB's decision is due at 1145 GMT, followed at 1230 GMT by ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet's news conference.
At 0801 GMT, the euro was little changed at $1.4401, not far from a 2009 high of $1.4448 hit on trading platform EBS on Wednesday, its highest since mid-December.
Sterling was also steady against the dollar at $1.6989, close to its highest in more than nine months of $1.7044 hit on Wednesday.
The ECB decision is not expected to have much impact on markets. The ECB is expected to stick to a similar assessment to the July policy meeting, when it said it expected economic activity to stay weak for the rest of the year, though the pace of decline was likely to ease.
"Only a clear statement in favour of or against further 'unconventional' measures would be able to provide new impetus for euro/dollar, but that seems hardly likely," Commerzbank analysts say in a note.
However, interest rate futures suggest markets are starting to price in higher euro zone rates further down the line, with March 2010 euribor futures up around 22 basis points this week in terms of implied yield.
Meanwhile, higher equities weighed on the Japanese yen, with the dollar up 0.3 percent at 95.18 yen and the euro up 0.2 percent at 137.06 yen.
Elsewhere, the Australian dollar rose and the New Zealand dollar fell as better-than-expected Australian employment data contrasted with a higher-than-expected jobless rate in New Zealand.
The Australian dollar rose 0.4 percent to $0.8437, not far from a 10-month high around $0.8471 hit earlier this week.
Data showed that 32,200 jobs were created in Australia in July, far better than forecasts for a loss of 20,000 jobs, adding to the risk of an early rise in interest rates..
"The market cannot find a factor which could break the uptrend in the Aussie," said Hideki Amikura, deputy general manager of the forex section at Nomura Trust Bank in Tokyo.
The New Zealand dollar fell 0.3 percent to $0.6713 after data showed the country's jobless rate climbed more than expected to 6.0 percent for the second quarter, a nine-year high.
(Additional reporting by Satomi Noguchi in Tokyo; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)