Pound Sterling weakens as market sentiment dampens amid Middle East tensions

• Pound Sterling is declining toward a seven-month low as Israel-Palestine tensions dampen the market mood.
• Labor demand in the UK has started facing the repercussions of poor business activity.
• A steady interest rate decision is anticipated from the BoE to avoid a recession.

The Pound Sterling (GBP) continues to face intense selling pressure as dismal market sentiment due to escalating tensions in the Middle East combines with a poor economic outlook for the United Kingdom. The GBP/USD pair continues its losing streak for the third trading session in a row as labor market conditions and business activity in the UK region are deteriorating due to a decline in new business orders.

A string of weak economic indicators from the UK economy have dented expectations of more interest rate hikes from the Bank of England (BoE). The central bank is expected to keep interest rates unchanged at 5.25% to avoid further economic casualties. The BoE is widely anticipated to keep interest rates unchanged as a further increase in borrowing costs could push the economy into a recession. 

Daily Digest Market Movers: Pound Sterling extends losing streak amid risk-off mood

• Pound Sterling extends its losing spell for the third session in a row as the market sentiment turns sour.
• The broader market mood turns risk-off as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated on Wednesday that his troops are preparing for a ground incursion to eliminate Hamas in Gaza with the goal of ‘saving the nation’.
• Benjamin Netanyahu further added that he won’t share the details of when the incursion will begin but that the army will destroy the Palestinian military group. 
• Escalated risks of widening the Israel-Palestine conflict have dampened the appeal of risk-perceived assets.
• In addition to the dismal market mood, the deteriorating outlook of the UK economy has resulted in an intense sell-off in the Pound Sterling.
• A survey from S&P Global in October showed that UK business activity remains in the contraction phase as firms are operating at lower capacity due to poor demand in the domestic and overseas market. 
• UK firms are heavily relying on inventory backlog to cater current needs of customers due to pessimism over the demand outlook.
• “The UK economy continued to flirt with a recession in October, as the increased cost of living, higher interest rates, and falling exports were widely blamed on a third month of falling output, according to Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.
• The repercussions of weak business activity are impacting visibly on the labor market as UK employers shed jobs for the third time in a row. The UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that 82K employees lost jobs in August. Also, the Claimant Count Change rose sharply by 20.4K in September.
• Going forward, investors will focus on the interest rate decision by the Bank of England (BoE), which will be announced on November 2.
• Due to weak consumer spending, poor business activity, and deteriorating labor market conditions, BoE policymakers are expected to keep interest rates unchanged at 5.25% for the second time.
• Investors remain worried about the inflation outlook with three months left for the UK Prime Minister to fulfill his promise of halving inflation to 5.4% by the year-end. 
• Meanwhile, the US Dollar refreshes a two-week high at 106.86 as the appeal for safe-haven assets improves due to geopolitical tensions.
• The demand for the US Dollar strengthens as the US economy is resilient despite higher interest rates by the Federal Reserve (Fed), unlike other economies that are struggling for a firm footing in a high-interest rate environment.
• The S&P Global survey showed that US business activity in the private sector reported an uptick in October. The business sentiment improved on expectations that the Fed is done with hiking interest rates.
• In the meantime, investors await the Q3 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data, which will be published at 12:30 GMT. Economists have forecasted that the US economy grew by 4.2% on an annualized basis, against 2.1% growth recorded last year in the same period. 

Technical Analysis: Pound Sterling falls toward seven-month low at 1.2040

Pound Sterling declines toward a seven-month low at around 1.2040 on downbeat market sentiment. The GBP/USD pair is exposed to the psychological support at the key round number 1.2000 as the overall trend is bearish. The near-term trend for Cable is bearish as the 20 and 50-day Exponential Moving Averages (EMAs) are sloping south. Momentum oscillators have slipped into the bearish range again, which indicates that a fresh downside cycle has started.