Pound soars after exit poll shows conservatives set to win majority in UK election

LONDON, Dec 13 -- British pound soared on Thursday night after an exit poll suggested the Conservatives are on course to win a massive parliamentary majority in the country's election, reported Xinhua news agency.

The pound was trading at 1.3513 against the US dollar and 1.2067 against the euro, up by 2.40 and 1.77 per cent respectively.

The huge gains of the British currency came shortly after the results of the exit poll were released by Britain's main television organizations as soon as thousands of polling stations across Britain closed at 10 pm local time.

Market sentiments are boosted by the expectation that with a massive majority Conservative Party leader Boris Johnson would be able to deliver Brexit on Jan 31, 2020 to end the uncertainties that have clouded the economy since the Brexit referendum in 2016.

Based on interviews at more than 140 polling stations, the exit poll gave the Conservatives 368 seats in the 650-member House of Commons and the main opposition Labour 191 seats.

The pound has kept a volatile and downward trend until Thursday evening, falling from the high of 1.3223 in morning trade to 1.3127 in the late afternoon against the US dollar. Market watchers said the day performance of the pound could be attributed to concerns whether the Conservatives could win a majority.

Bob Mason, an analyst with FX Empire, earlier predicted a Conservative Party victory is likely to put the pound on 1.35 levels against the US dollar.  

--BERNAMA