The British pound on Tuesday flirted with the $1.30 level, with the U.K. currency strengthening on optimism the ruling Conservative party will secure a majority in the general election on December 12.
The pound
GBPUSD, +0.4405%
traded as high as $1.3009 from $1.2941 on Monday.
The latest polls show the Conservatives winning, though the margin varies widely. One poll from Kantar ending Dec. 2 has the Conservatives with a 12-percentage point lead, while another from ICM ending on the same date has the Conservative margin over the Labour party at 7 points.
Sterling has moved largely in lock step with Conservative’s election chances since Prime Minister Boris Johnson agreed an exit pact with the European Union that needs a majority in the U.K. Parliament for passage.
The FTSE 100
UKX, -1.86%
meanwhile skidded 1.61% to 7168.36, with only a handful of companies advancing. Trump’s latest salvo on Chinese trade talks hit stocks worldwide, including Russia steelmaker Evraz
EVR, -7.26%
and Swiss commodities broker Glencore
GLEN, -4.17%
falling sharply on the London Stock Exchange.
Rightmove
RMV, +0.10%
rose after a Goldman Sachs upgrade to neutral, on hopes for a better economic outlook, and Diageo
DGE, -0.14%
rose after an RBC Capital Markets upgrade to outperform.
Source : MTV
