MidEast escalation pressures pound against safehaven dollar
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Oct 2 Reuters The British pound steadied on Wednesday, a day after it fell sharply against the dollar as the growing conflict in the Middle East spurred demand for safe haven assets.

Sterling was last flat at 1.3286 after dropping 0.67 the previous day as investors flocked to the U.S. currency. The pound was around 1 off a twoandahalf year high hit on Thursday.

The dollar was boosted on Tuesday as Iran fired ballistic missiles on Israel, an assault that, along with Israel39;s incursion into Lebanon, has sparked fears of a wider conflict in the oilproducing Middle East.

Uncertainty over whether Iran39;s salvo marked an escalation, rather than a temporary flareup, kept investors on edge.

The move lower in GBP … can be mostly attributed to the rising Middle East tensions and hawkish Powell remarks, said Matthew Ryan, head of market strategy at global financial services firm Ebury, referring also to Monday39;s speech by U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

Eurosterling was flat at 83.29 pence per euro, while the pound firmed 0.6 against a weakening yen to 191.80.

Beyond headlines on the Middle East, market participants will look to U.S. jobs data on Friday, which could offer hints on the health of the world39;s biggest economy and shape the Fed39;s policy path.

In Britain, data showed…