The Pound Sterling came under heavy pressure as the latest poll suggests that the Conservative Party, headed by Theresa May, the Prime Minister, may not obtain a majority after the upcoming June 8th election. The latest modeling indicates that the Conservatives might lose as many as 20 seats of the 330 it currently holds while the Labour Party might gain as many as 30 seats. Previous polls had forecast that the gap between the parties might be narrowing but now there is some doubt among investors that the gap might be far tighter than initially expected.
As reported at 10:19 am (JST) in Tokyo, the GBPUSD was trading at $1.283, a gain of 0.22%.The EUR/GBP was down by an equal amount at 0.8712 Pence.
Worries Drive Safe Haven Yen
In Asia, the US Dollar dipped to a 2-week trough against the Japanese yen as cautious investors dominate the FX arena, given the political concerns in Europe and the UK, as well as softer equity and commodity markets. In the US, there is growing concern over the investigation into possible collusion between Russia and the Trump administration, with a focus on Trump’s son-in-law and advisor, Jared Kushner. Those investigations have led investors to question when or how Trump will be able to push through his agenda of tax reform and increased infrastructure spending. The USD/JPY was trading at 110.929 Yen, up 0.07%.