Sterling stands out, outperforms euro after Fed's surprise shift

* Pound a rare G10 currency that holds ground vs dollar

* UK wage and jobs growth data lends sterling support

* Euro/sterling retreats from recent 3-month highs

LONDON, March 20 (Reuters) - Sterling rose from five-week lows against the dollar on Thursday, with more signs of improvement in the UK jobs market and a pick-up in wages lending it solid support and keeping alive expectations of tighter monetary policy in Britain.

It gained against the euro, with the single currency running into a bout of profit-taking after it had scaled a three-month high against pound earlier this week. The euro was bolstered by talk of outflows to pay for a European acquisition by British telecoms group Vodafone, positioning for which may have waned.

The pound was up 0.1 percent against an overall buoyant dollar at $1.6550. It fell to a five-week low of $1.6508 on Wednesday after Federal Reserve head Janet Yellen surprised markets and said that rises in U.S. interest rates were not as far away as most had thought.

Yellen said the Federal Reserve will probably end its massive bond-buying program this autumn, and could start raising interest rates around six months later, aligning with the Bank of England which is also expected to tighten policy in the spring of 2015.

Mark Mccormick, a currency strategist at Credit Agricole (TLO: ACA.TI - news) said the pound's losses against the dollar, post the Fed, were relatively smaller than the other actively traded major currencies like the yen and the euro. And that was mainly because of strong British data.

"The main takeaway from (yesterday's) labour data was the better-than-expected jump in earnings. In January wages rose 1.4 percent from 1.2 percent in December, which, if sustained, could impact both growth and the outlook for BoE (Shenzhen: 000725.SZ - news) policy," he said.

"We maintain our view that sterling is best played against the crosses like the euro and the Swiss franc and look to sell euro/sterling into rallies."

The euro was down 0.2 percent against the pound 83.47 pence, retreating from a three-month high of 84 pence struck on Wednesday. The pound edged up after data on Wednesday showed the number of Britons claiming jobless benefits fell more than expected while wages ticked up.

The pound was also benefiting from what many saw a hawkish tint in a speech by Bank of England Governor Mark Carney on Tuesday, when he warned that keeping interest rates ultra-low for too long could lead to excess risk-taking and complacency in financial markets.

"The setback of sterling/dollar has remained limited, and we have used the opportunity to establish a renewed bullish position at $1.6550," Morgan Stanley (Berlin: DWD.BE - news) analysts said in a note.

"While the dollar is gaining broad support following the Fed meeting, we also see UK events as sterling-positive." (Reporting by Anirban Nag; Editing by Toby Chopra)