Lead Capital Partners says concerns over the prospect of Britain leaving the European Union have led to the British Pound’s biggest one-day fall against the US dollar since March 2009. The sharp decline follows a decision by London’s mayor, Boris Johnson, to join the campaign pushing for the world’s 6th largest economy to leave the 28-nation trading bloc.

At the weekend, Prime Minister, David Cameron – fresh from a two-day meeting with EU leaders, announced that he had set the date for the British public to vote on whether or not to remain in Europe for 23rd June 2016.

Markets fear that public sentiment towards Europe and what is perceived as a steady drift toward closer union will result in Britain leaving the EU, an event dubbed “Brexit” by the media.

“Our view is that the pro-Europe lobby will be victorious. Their tactics will aim to scare the British people into believing that the economy would suffer irreparable damage if it were to leave Europe. That said, markets hate uncertainty and the pound is falling like a brick as a result,” said David Eckhart, chief market strategist at Lead Capital Partners.

The pound has lost 4% against the dollar in 2016 and the latest decline reflects doubts over whether Mr. Cameron secured sufficient concessions from Europe as part of the deal for Britain’s continued membership of the EU.

“The pound’s lost over 17% against the greenback in the last 18 months and while some of that is attributed to the run up to the 25 basis point rate hike by the Fed, much of it is due to uncertainty,” concluded Eckhart.

About Lead Capital Partners:
Lead Capital Partners is an independent investment management practice founded on the philosophy that an active, opportunistic and adaptable approach to investing provides our clients with the best chance for the realization of long-term positive returns irrespective of prevailing market environments.
It is our firm belief that the “buy and hold” investment strategy that has traditionally served investors to such great effect over the decades can, now, lead to significant losses in bear markets, or to little or no profit in markets that persist in trading in ranges unless they are actively managed by seasoned professionals such as those at Lead Capital Partners.