Investing.com - A recent poll showed on Tuesday that a majority of Britons who would vote in the referendum scheduled for June 23 on the U.K.’s membership in the European Union (EU) would be in favor of “Brexit”, as a vote to leave the group is known.
The ORB poll, commissioned by The Telegraph, found that the “Leave” campaign was backed by 49% of those responding, with 47% preferring the “Remain” decision.
However, the British daily noted that when likelihood to vote was taken into account, the Brexit option gathered 52% of the total vote and those wishing to stay who actually planned on participating in the referendum dropped to 45%.
The ORB poll also revealed that undecided voters in that case were most concerned about choosing the “Remain” option due to the possibility of uncontrolled or increased immigration throughout the EU.
The pound traded down on the uncertainty with GBP/USD falling 0.87% to 1.4176 at 9:28AM GMT or 5:28AM ET, GBP/JPY slumping 1.52% to 160.32 and the EUR/GBP trading up 0.77% to 0.7826, while London’s FTSE 100 traded down with the rest of Europe, falling 0.55% to 6,140.50 points.
These results came in sharp contrast to the Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) own survey of members that also showed on Tuesday that 80% of the employers group wished to remain in the EU.
The CBI used the poll to justify its anti-Brexit stance.