Pound sinks as poll sees Tory lead shrinking

The pound shed value against the dollar and euro as trading sentiment weakened after the latest political survey suggested Boris Johnson’s lead is shrinking.

Sterling pushed higher on Monday after polling suggested a significant lead for the Conservative Party ahead of the general election.

But new figures from Kantar yesterday were less optimistic about the size of the Tories’ current polling advantage, weakening sterling which thus bolstered international-focused stocks.

David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets, said: “The pound is in the red as an opinion poll from Kantar showed the gap between the Conservative Party and the Labour Party has narrowed a little. The small drop in the gap between the two parties encouraged traders to drop the pound.

“The downside move in sterling hasn’t been huge, given the pro-business Conservative Party are still enjoying a doubledigit point lead.”

The value of the pound decreased 0.39% versus the US dollar at 1.284, and fell 0.38% against the euro at 1.166.

Weakness in the pound buoyed the London markets, which all closed higher, although the FTSE 100 was still reasonably subdued, with comments that a US-China trade deal is “getting really close” failing to inspire the market.

London’s top flight closed 6.85 points higher at 7,403.14 at the end of trading.

The German Dax decreased by 0.08% while the French Cac moved 0.24% higher.

The Dow Jones also pushed higher, moving close to an alltime high.