Pound Soars as Exit Polls Shows Conservatives Led in UK Election

The British Pound pushed aggressively higher after an exit poll from the BBC following the UK general election saw Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservative party in the lead with 316 seats. The Labour party trailed with 239 seats. SNP secured 58 sets, the Liberal Democrats picked up 10, while UKIP and the Green parties walked away with 2 seats apiece.

Critically, this is an initial poll result and outcomes may evolve as votes are tallied. Indeed, a separate tally (initially attributed to YouGov on the newswires, though the polling company has insisted it was a "re-contact survey" and not an "exit poll") suggests a slightly different allocation, albeit with Mr Cameron still in the lead (Conservatives: 284, Labour: 263, LibDems: 31, SNP: 48, UKIP: 2, PLAID: 3, Green: 1).

The Pound’s response to the outcome likely reflects the withdrawal of uncertainty risk associated with the election. A coalition government dominated by the Conservatives and led by David Cameron represents the status quo, allowing investors to re-focus on monetary policy considerations without worrying about what a potential about-face on the fiscal side might have meant.

5min Chart - Created Using FXCM Marketscope

--- Written by Ilya Spivak, Currency Strategist for DailyFX.com

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