Summary Pound and euro soared on Thursday amid growing market confidence that Britain would remain in EU.
NEW YORK (AFP) - The pound and euro both soared Thursday amid growing market confidence that Britain would vote to keep their country a member of the European Union.
The pound topped $1.50 an hour after polls closed at 2100 GMT, after trading higher against the dollar all day as investors hoped the "Brexit" referendum would fail.
The euro also surged to nearly $1.1430, bolstered by comments from Nigel Farage, one of the leaders of the pro-Brexit camp, saying after voting ended that it appeared his side had narrowly lost.
It "looks like remain will edge it", Farage told Sky News television.
The result of the vote will not be known until around 0800 GMT Friday, and, with markets having grown confident throughout the day that the "remain" side would win, some analysts were concerned the markets could get it wrong.
"The outcome remains far too close to call and the actual impact on markets is also largely uncertain given the unprecedented nature of the event," said Omer Esiner at Commonwealth Foreign Exchange.
Voting to break with the EU "could send the pound plummeting, while a remain victory could reduce a massive risk premium from the value of the pound," he said.
