Pound lifted as Brexit bets wane and Remain swing strengthens

Bets on the result of the UK's referendum on European Union membership on Thursday are increasingly pointing towards a win for the 'Remain' campaign, according to the latest bookmaker's odds, sending sterling to its highest level in months.

Ladbrokes said on Tuesday that Remain was now at odds of 1/4, implying a 76% chance that the UK will vote to stay in the EU, moving from the 74% chance the bookmaker declared overnight.

Odds for a win for the 'Leave' camp to engineer a Brexit slipped to 3/1, implying a 24% chance, Ladbrokes said.

According to the bookie, roughly 95% of all bets over the previous 24 hours had been placed on voters rejecting Brexit.

Polls released since the killing of pro-EU MP Jo Cox last week have pointed to momentum swinging back in favour of Remain.

An Orb poll for the Telegraph newspaper on Tuesday showed that among definite voters, Remain had a seven-point lead, with 53% of the vote compared to Leave’s 46%.

A YouGov full poll for the Times showed 42% likely to vote remain, 44% to leave, but 9% undecided.

By 1020 BST on Tuesday, the pound was up 0.5% to 1.4783 against the dollar, its highest level since the 23 June date was revealed by the government. Versus the euro, sterling was up 0.3% to 1.3026.

Legendary currency trader George Soros weighed into the referendum debate on Tuesday, warning that a potential Brexit from the EU would lead to a huge drop in the value of the pound, and possibly even a 'Black Friday' event.

With two days remaining before the vote, the man behind the infamous Black Wednesday collapse of the pound in 1992, wrote in The Guardian newspaper that the decision "would have an immediate and dramatic impact on financial markets, investment, prices and jobs".

Forex analyst Ranko Berich at Monex said sterling's continued strengthening against most of the G10 currencies was one of the sharpest rallies seen in the pound in four decades.

He added: "Despite official polls ambiguity, betting houses suggest that the chances of a 'Brexit' are almost rejected now, as over 95% of the bets set during the last 24 hours had been placed in favour of remaining."