London - The British pound dropped after a poll showed the Conservative party’s lead narrowed, and as investors in Asia sold the currency after the UK’s first-quarter economic growth missed estimates.
Sterling sell stop-loss orders were triggered, with cable down as much as 0.6% against the dollar, said Asia-based traders who asked not to be named as they aren’t authorised to speak publicly.
A Telegraph report suggesting that the Manchester suicide bomber may have distributed more explosive devices also added to selling pressure, they said.
There’s a bit of a risk-off tone, with breaks of past technical levels exacerbating the moves for currencies including the Aussie and the pound, said Rodrigo Catril, a currency strategist at National Australia Bank in Sydney.
“Looking at GBP, the break below 1.2940, which has broken the short uptrend since May 12, appears to have been the excuse for the move lower.”
A YouGov poll showed the Tory lead narrowing to 5 percentage points, the slimmest since Theresa May became prime minister.
An index compiled by YouGov and the Centre for Economics and Business Research indicated UK consumer confidence fell this month to its lowest since Brexit, while data on Thursday showed that economic growth slowed to 0.2%.
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