* Sterling up as Moody's says UK rating not at risk for now
* Pound gains nearly 1 pct vs yen; PPI data eyed at 0930 GMT
* UK fiscal health concerns remain
By Jessica Mortimer
LONDON, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Sterling rose on Friday after a major rating agency said Britain's top-notch sovereign rating was under no immediate threat, easing some concerns about the UK's shaky fiscal situation.
Analysts from Moody's Investors Service said the AAA ratings of Britain and the United States were not under threat of a downgrade right now, but a worst case scenario foresaw a cut by 2013.
The report lifted sterling sharply against the yen as it encouraged investors to buy perceived riskier currencies, mostly to the detriment of the low-yielding Japanese unit.
The potential risk of a UK ratings downgrade has come into focus this week after Standard & Poor's cut its sovereign credit rating outlook on Spain and Fitch downgraded Greece's debt rating.
Concerns remain, however, about the dire state of UK public finances, particularly after finance minister Alistair Darling's pre-budget report on Wednesday was perceived by investors as not doing enough to tackle the ballooning deficit.
"Sterling has been given a bit of a lift from Moody's saying there is no immediate threat to the UK rating, but it has stayed within ranges against the dollar and the euro," said Geraldine Concagh, economist at AIB Group Treasury in Dublin.
She added that sterling was likely to remain broadly under pressure due to concerns about the public finances.
At 0903 GMT sterling was up 0.2 percent against the dollar to $1.6311 while it jumped nearly 1 percent against the yen to 144.97 yen.
The euro fell 0.2 percent against sterling to 90.35 pence.
Investors will be looking to UK producer prices data at 0930 GMT for any clues on the inflation outlook.
"On the data calendar, short of missing consensus by a wide berth, November PPI is highly unlikely to move sterling too much on release," RBC currency strategists said in a note to clients.
Analysts stressed that Moody's still highlighted risks to the UK outlook, notably how quickly interest rates rise over the next few years and how debt will be financed.
Sterling investors broadly shrugged off British media reports that the UK Treasury wanted to announce tougher spending cuts but this was overruled by Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
The reports highlighted that the government was unlikely to push through spending cuts ahead of next year's general election.
"The market has already come to the conclusion that the pre-budget report was a political exercise that failed to address the concerns raised by ratings agencies and by investors about the deteriorating fiscal situation in the UK," BNP Paribas currency strategist Ian Stannard said.
UK government bonds have come under heavy pressure this week on concern the pre-budget report did not do enough to tackle the ballooning budget deficit.
(Reporting by Jessica Mortimer, editing by Nigel Stephenson) ((jessica.mortimer@thomsonreuters.com; Tel: +44207 542 7817, Reuters Messaging: jessica.mortimer.reuters.com@reuters.net) Sterling rises after Moody's says no threat to UK rating