Pound falls as hung parliament confirmed

Those using their private wealth to trade in sterling have seen the value of the currency fall this morning (May 7th) following the result of yesterday’s general election.

The Conservative Party had been confirmed as winning a minimum of 291 seats at 10:15 BST, but the first hung parliament in decades has been formed as the party fell short of the 326 needed for a majority.

Sterling dipped in early trading as results came in, with Reuters reporting the British currency hit a year low of $1.4596 against its US counterpart.

It was also down against the euro, which had climbed by around one per cent to 86.75p before retreating slightly to 86.35p.

Currency strategist at Societe Generale Peter Frank was quoted by the news source as saying the formation of a hung parliament has not come at a good time, given the continued uncertainty surrounding debt problems in Greece.

’It’s not good for sterling,’ he remarked.ADNFCR-2318-ID-19764399-ADNFCR