Sterling touches 1-wk low vs dlr in light trade

* Sterling choppy in range, briefly hits 1-week low vs dlr

* Steady at $1.9825 by 1333 GMT

* Next focus: BoE rate meeting outcome on Thursday

(Updates prices)

LONDON, July 4 (Reuters) - Sterling briefly touched a one-week low against the dollar on Friday but held in a relatively slim range in light trading conditions given a lack of key data and with U.S. markets closed for a holiday.

Since hitting a two-month high just above $2 early in the week on the back of general dollar weakness, sterling has retreated as a string of data painted a bleak UK economic picture.

On Thursday, a key survey raised fears about a recession after it showed Britain's dominant services sector shrank in June at its sharpest rate since the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.

Adding to the gloom, retailer John Lewis Partnership [JLP.UL] posted an 8.3 percent plunge in weekly department store sales, while housebuilder Barratt Developments (BDEV.L: Quote, Profile, Research) said it planned to cut around 1,000 jobs in the face of a rapidly worsening housing market.

"We're fairly negative on the pound. We're looking for cable to start to head down more decisively, that's partly because we think the dollar will strengthen as well," said Bilal Hafeez, foreign exchange strategist at Deutsche Bank.