UK leaving EU would see sterling slide 9% versus US dollar - poll

Sterling is seen sinking 9% against the US dollar in the immediate wake of a UK vote in June to leave the European Union, but would rise 4% if it stayed in the single-currency bloc, a poll has shown.

The poll of 30 currency forecasters was conducted over the past week by Reuters.

Back in April, a similar poll found sterling would gain 4% on a Bremain vote, but fall 7% in the event of a Brexit return, the news agency said.

At 14:29 BST, sterling was up 0.15% at $1.4438. The dollar-index spot price was down 0.03% to $95.423.

A YouGov poll for the Times on Wednesday showed parity between the Brexit and Bremain camps, each on 41%, and a day earlier an ICM/Guardian poll revealed 45%-42% split favouring Brexit.

Irish bookmaker Paddy Power slashed its odds on Britain voting to leave the EU, from 9/2 to 5/2 on Wednesday, with the remain vote still solid at 2/7.

This confluence saw sterling drop yesterday against most major crosses, a shift away from its run-up prior to this week, which was premised on polls that suggested Britain was more likely to vote to remain in the EU.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development fanned the flames yesterday when it warned UK's economy would be subjected to severe shocks if it left the EU, with gross domestic product projected to be 3% lower in 2020 than if it remained.