Pound drops over Scotland Referendum uncertainty

Creative Commons

AS the latest referendum polls show that voters are voting YES to Scottish independence, sterling has dropped to a 10 month low against the dollar today.

The pound sterling, as well as shares in big companies with a major Scottish interest have dropped with widespread news over fears for the United Kingdom’s economic stability.

The pound started trading this morning down more than 1 per cent against the US dollar, only recovering 0.01 per cent by this afternoon.

The Royal Bank of Scotland dropped 2.88 per cent, Lloyds Banking Group was down 3.36 per cent and Standard Life fell 4.2 per cent.

Forex.com research director Kathleen Brooks told Sky News: “An independent Scotland would potentially have to start a currency from scratch, which is a hard thing to do. Obviously a new currency was formed with the euro, but that was decades in the making – and Scotland doesn’t have the time so it would be a real uphill struggle.”

The negativity follows a You Gov poll in the Sunday Times which indicated that 51 per cent of Scots supported independence while 49 per cent backed the current Union. It is the first time polls have suggested that there could be a ‘Yes’ vote for independence in the referendum on September 18.

Pension funds which have significant exposure to the banks and big companies with Scottish links may also be affected by the latest polling figures.

Author badge placeholder
Written by

Euro Weekly News Media

Share your story with us by emailing newsdesk@euroweeklynews.com, by calling +34 951 38 61 61 or by messaging our Facebook page www.facebook.com/EuroWeeklyNews

Comments