02 June, 2017
The biggest mover in currencies was sterling, which shed 0.3 per cent after a YouGov poll showed the ruling Conservative Party might lose 20 of the 330 seats it holds while the opposition Labour Party could gain almost 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.
Sterling fell around 0.3 per cent against the euro to 1.1453 and 0.2 per cent against the dollar to 1.286. In the U.S., there is growing concern over the investigation into possible collusion between Russian Federation and the Trump administration, with a focus on Trump's son-in-law and advisor, Jared Kushner. It also slipped to 0.8738 pound per euro, near Friday's eight-week low of 0.8750.
The dollar fell 0.3 percent against a basket of currencies .DXY following weaker-than-forecast data on US pending home sales.
Sterling fell as low as $1.2791, near a one-month low of $1.2775 touched on Friday before recovering some ground to $1.2810.
LONDON, June 2 (Reuters) - Britain's pound hit a 2-1/2 month low against the euro on Thursday as a weak U.S.jobs report prompted broad selling in the dollar and gave Europe's shared currency a lift.
On a trade-weighted basis, the pound slid to a new eight-week low of 77.2 =GBP.New constituency-by-constituency modelling by YouGov showed the ruling Conservative Party might lose 20 seats at the June 8 election while Labour could gain almost 30 seats, potentially leading to a hung parliament, The Times said.
New constituency-by-constituency modelling by YouGov showed the ruling Conservative Party might lose 20 seats at the June 8 election while Labour could gain almost 30 seats, potentially leading to a hung parliament, The Times said.
Some recent polls have hinted that Prime Minister Theresa May and her Conservative Party could even lose parliamentary elections on June 8, worrying financial markets who hoped a clear victory might provide a smoother exit from the European Union over the next two years.
"We're getting very negative on sterling again", said George Saravelos, FX strategist at Deutsche Bank.
Other surveys have shown May still on course to substantially increase her majority and bookmakers still put the chances of a Conservative victory at more than 90 percent.
Benchmark 10-year Treasury note yields US10YT=RR were down almost 1 basis point at 2.208 percent, a near two-week low, while 10-year German Bund yields DE10YT=RR hit 0.286 percent, the lowest in over five weeks.
The dollar was steady against the yen at 110.85 yen, and the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield was up a basis point at 2.227 per cent.
By 1012 GMT, the pound was down almost half a percent at $1.2836.
Oil prices declined to a three-week low as news of a rebound in Libyan production exacerbated worries about a global oversupply despite OPEC's pact to extend output cuts last week. Global benchmark Brent was down 2.5 percent at $50.53 per barrel.
Spot gold prices XAU= rose $9.09 or 0.72 percent, to $1,271.80 an ounce.
