UK could restart Lloyds sale soon if price rises, official says

LONDON, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Britain's government could rapidly restart sales of state-held shares in Lloyds Banking Group if market conditions normalise and the share price rises, the finance ministry's top civil servant, Nicholas Macpherson, said on Wednesday.

Finance minister George Osborne said last month that he was postponing a planned sale of Lloyds shares due to global financial market turmoil, disappointing thousands of small investors hoping to benefit from a discounted sell-off.

"If the share price looked a bit stronger, it is quite possible the chancellor might decide on a reasonably rapid sale," Macpherson told an annual parliamentary hearing.

"We are in the hands of the markets. The government has made clear it is committed to a retail sale, and I think if you are going ahead with a retail sale, you have to be particularly sensitive to what is going on in the markets," he added. (Reporting by David Milliken; editing by William Schomberg)