STERLING OUTLOOK CLOUDED BY TEST OF PARIS ACCORD The move by foreign exchange markets to test the strength of the Paris currency accord has thrown into question the near-term outlook for sterling, until recently one of the main beneficiaries of the agreement, analysts said. Since the six-nation accord last month, sterling has risen sharply, adding almost five pct on its trade-weighted index. While the accord effectively stifled dollar/yen and dollar/mark movements, the markets turned their attention to sterling as foreign investors rushed to take advantage of relatively high U.K. Interest rates. But analysts say the pound has been sidelined by the first tentative test of the Paris accord seen yesterday. The market now looks set sooner or later to push the dollar down further in a test of the willingness of central banks to intervene. Analysts say if the banks do not intervene effectively, the Paris accord could collapse. "On balance, sterling would be a net sufferer if G-6 collapses," Phillips and Drew analyst Stephen Lewis said. He said sterling would lose out as markets turned their attention to capital movements whereas previously they had been restricted to looking only at the interest yield on currencies. However, although most analysts and foreign exchange dealers were forecasting a brief period of consolidation or even retracement for sterling, none were expecting a very sharp drop in the U.K. Currency. Sterling remained supported by optimism on the U.K. Political and economic outlook, firmer oil prices and relatively high interest rates, they said. Bullish sentiment on the U.K. Economic outlook has been running especially high after last week's budget, seen as popular both with the markets and with British voters. Sterling was also supported by signs of a weakening in the West German and Japanese economies, where growth for 1987 is trailing behind the three pct forecast for the U.K. Recent opinion polls showing Britain's ruling conservative party ahead of opposition parties in popularity have also supported the pound. In addition, sterling has so far shrugged off two half-point cuts in U.K. Bank base lending rates in less than two weeks. A further half-point cut, widely expected in the next week or so, has already been largely discounted. U.K. Base rates, now running at 10 pct, are still relatively high compared to other western countries, and analysts said a further base rate cut to 9-1/2 pct was unlikely to affect sterling. Sterling today appeared resilient to the dollar's decline, dropping only slightly on a cross-rate basis. Worries about renewed turbulence in the foreign exchange markets, however, were reflected in the U.K. Government bond (gilt) market, where prices dropped by up to 5/16 point. Until now foreign investor interest in the gilt market has been one of the major reasons behind the rise in sterling. Dealers said they expected the pound to hold quietly steady for the next few days while the market awaits further developments on the dollar and this Thursday's U.K. Current account figures for February. Market forecasts are for a deficit of around 250 mln stg after January's small surplus.