British Pound drop in Value As Britons Head To Polls

The value of the  British pound dropped on Thursday as Britons voted in a general election that seeks to determine what has been declared a major Brexit decision.

The value had increases overnight to a 10-month peak at $1.3229 on expectations of an election win for Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party, the pound slipped.

Johnson called Thursday’s snap vote in a bid to gain a decisive mandate to leave the European Union on January 31, more than three-and-a-half years after Britain narrowly voted in a referendum to leave.

“Just before voting opened, the polls suggested that a Conservative majority — seen as the preferred market outcome… was perceived as increasingly likely,” noted AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

However investors were sitting tight awaiting the vote outcome as polls have tightened in recent days, suggesting that a hung parliament, or no overall majority for either the Tories or main opposition Labour party, could still occur.

Source: AFP