The British pound to dollar conversion rate suffered a significant fall after foreign exchange markets reacted strongly to the shocking news of a Brexit. Where next for the GBP to USD in today's exchange rate forecasts?

The pound to dollar rate is -6.13 pct lower at 1.36 (today's range high saw 1.49).

As British Prime Minister David Cameron resigned following the UK’s vote to exit the EU, the GBP/USD spot rate plunged to historic lows amid major uncertainty.

Additional damage to the British pound was dealt by the prospect of a second Scottish independence referendum rising.

"Fundamentally, the GBP looks fairly unattractive this morning and we think downside risks remain significant. The only saving grace for the GBP this morning is the pummeling it got overnight, falling nearly 12% from peak to trough. That may limit immediate downside pressure on the pound but losses are liable to extend in the next few weeks" Scotiabank

Latest Pound/Dollar Exchange Rates

On Sunday the Euro to US Dollar exchange rate (EUR/USD) converts at 1.185 FX markets see the us dollar vs euro exchange rate converting at 0.844. FX markets see the us dollar vs pound exchange rate converting at 0.774. The USD to CHF exchange rate converts at 0.911 today. FX markets see the us dollar vs canadian dollar exchange rate converting at 1.32. Please note: the FX rates above, updated 20th Sep 2020, will have a commission applied by your typical high street bank. Currency brokers specialise in these type of foreign currency transactions and can save you up to 5% on international payments compared to the banks.

Polls from IPSOS MORI and Populus placed the ‘Remain’ campaign in the lead, adding weight to markets’ confidence in the outcome of today’s vote.

As the IMF also announced that it had lowered its 2016 forecast for US GDP the GBP/USD exchange rate rallied strongly, pushing towards a fresh multi-month high

Somewhat unexpectedly the GBP to USD exchange rate surged to its best level since January in the wake of the IMF’s decision to lower its growth forecast for the US.

With the final opinion polls also putting the ‘Remain’ campaign in the lead the impact of Brexit uncertainty on the currency pair was generally minimal on Thursday morning.

In a largely expected development, the Pound has been volatile against the US Dollar and most other peers today, on account of the day of the EU Referendum vote finally arriving.

The latest opinion polls have been mixed; Comres and YouGov’s latest releases have put ‘Remain’ in the lead, while TNS’s contribution instead saw ‘Leave’ carrying the vote.

Whether daily news has much impact on the Pound’s appeal remains to be seen; although flooding in London has been reported, this may not be enough to dissuade voters or noticeable affect the outcome.

Turbulence in Store for Sterling over Next 24 Hours

It is distinctly unlikely that the Pound will manage to rally against its peers until the actual Referendum results are announced tomorrow; the general consensus is that the outcome will be known by seven in the morning.

With that in mind, results will be coming in overnight as the 382 voting districts declare their majorities. Based on rough estimates, the first results are expected to come in shortly after midnight.

Following on from this at around four in the morning will be the expected declaration of roughly 50% of the vote, while after seven when the final result is announced, the Pound can be expected to soar or dive based on whether ‘In’ or ‘Out’ have a majority.

US Dollar Generally Poor in Appeal despite Cautious Optimism from Fed Chair

Although a number of notable US economic announcements have been made this week, for the most part these have been eclipsed in their importance by EU Referendum outcome concerns.

Most recently the USD has been lowered in appeal due to expanding gasoline inventories up to June 17th, while on the positive side, existing home sales in May have risen from 1.3% to 1.8% on the month.

In other news, Fed Chair Janet Yellen has stated that she is ‘very hopeful’ for growth in the US economy to pick up in the near-term, though this has done little to pierce the current fog of economic uncertainty hanging over the US.

US Claims Results due Today, along with Manufacturing and Home Sales Stats

In a situation resembling ‘business as usual’, the US will be releasing a number of ecostats over the course of the day, although their reception is forecast to be muted.

First off will be the early afternoon’s initial jobless and continuing claims for mid-June – these are forecast to decline on both previous fields.

Following on from this will be the optimistically-predicted manufacturing PMI for the same month, with new home sales results for May coming shortly afterwards. In the latter case, a decline of -9.5% is on the cards.

UK Financial Institutions Battening Down the Hatches for Market Unrest

With the circumstances of trade in the UK currently being utterly unique, it appears as though plenty of contingency measures are being taken out to ensure that companies are able to weather the storm that will follow tomorrow morning.

According to the Guardian’s Jill Treanor:

‘Major banks are preparing for two days of unprecedented uncertainty by stuffing cash machines full of money, placing senior bankers on high alert in emergency war rooms around the City and switching off computer-driven ‘black box’ trading systems to avoid incurring huge losses in violent swings in shares, bonds and currency markets’.

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