Pound has jumped to an almost two-week high, as investors reacted to the news Republican candidate Donald Trump could be closing the gap with his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.
A Washington Post-ABC News tracking poll released on Tuesday which showed Donald Trump with a one-point lead over Hillary Clinton nationally, pushed investors away from the dollar, in turn sending sterling upwards.
Sterling has rallied to $1.23 against the dollar at 1pm. This marks a welcomed boost for pound which became the worst performing major currency in October.
Sterling is still down about 17 per cent against the dollar since the UK voted to leave the EU in June.
“Not a lot is going from the sterling side of the equation – it’s about the dollar, it’s about the poll,” Neil Mellor, a London-based currency strategist at Bank of New York Mellon, told Bloomberg.
US election angst hit the City as the FTSE 100, Britain’s benchmark share index, shed 40 point or 0.6 per cent at the open on Wednesday – its lowest level since September 30.
