New online opinion polls released since late last week have revealed stronger public support for the UK to leave the EU. Online opinion polls held by 'YouGov' and 'TNS' revealed that the leave camp is now in the lead.

Building evidence that the leave campaign has recently gained some momentum weighed heavily on the pound. The pound was the worst performer among its major peers after support for the ‘Leave’ option overtook the ‘Remain’ camp for the first time in a poll for ITV, with less than three weeks to the June 23 referendum.

“If a ‘Leave’ vote comes to fruition, the pound is going to get hit very, very hard,” said Chris Weston, chief market strategist at IG in Melbourne.