The pound retained its strength yesterday, hitting a 31-month high against the euro as a recent election poll showed an extended, 14-point lead for the Conservative Party.
However, the rally had faded by the afternoon as another poll showed just a 7-point lead for the Tories, suggesting an increased likelihood of a hung parliament. Sterling is slightly weaker this morning ahead of another poll, which will be released at 10pm this evening.
The markets widely expect a Conservative majority as a result of the general election on Thursday, which is thought to solve the Brexit impasse. It would also create a new deadline of December 2020 for a new trade deal to be signed.
Yesterday, a document was leaked which says that the government will struggle to deliver the infrastructure and staffing needed to fully exit the EU by December 2020.
Meanwhile, the Shadow Chancellor, John McDonnell, tried to calm worries of the pound plummeting in the event of a Labour win. He insisted that this wouldn’t happen and said, “my fear is that the pound will start to go up because of our investment plans.”
Today, we’ll see Balance of Trade and Industrial Production figures for the UK.
