The pound dropped again on Thursday after a new Brexit poll showed a surge in support for the “leave” campaign with just one week to go. Sterling traded at $1.4161, down from $1.4204 late Wednesday in New York. The Ipsos MORI/Evening Standard poll put support for a Brexit ahead by six points, with 53% wanting to leave the EU and 47% wishing to remain. The poll excluded the don’t knows. It’s the first time the Ipsos MORI telephone survey has shown a lead for the “leave” camp. One of the key reasons for the switch in sentiment is that immigration has overtaken the economy as the most important issue to the public, according to the Evening Standard. Analysts at Deutsche Bank said the Ipsos MORI poll is credited as being one of the most accurate pollsters in the Scottish independence referendum in 2014. “The fact they are phone polls make them key. So far phone polls are where the ‘remain’ campaign still have the upper hand notwithstanding the ICM poll early this week,” they said in a note. Earlier this week, separate surveys from the Sunday Times/YouGov, ICM/Guardian newspaper and TNS also showed more voters are in favor of Britain ditching the EU. However, the bookmakers are still convinced the U.K. will vote to stay a member — the Ladbrokes Brexit Barometer pointed Thursday to a 62% possibility of a “remain” outcome.
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