The pound has surged after an exit poll in Britain's Brexit election projected that Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative Party likely will win a majority of seats in Parliament.

The pound jumped over two cents late Thursday against the dollar, to $1.3445, the highest in more than a year-and-a-half.

Many investors hope a Conservative win would cement the the country's impending departure from the European Union (EU) and ease, at least in the short term, some of the uncertainty that has corroded business confidence since Britons voted in 2016 to leave the bloc.

An exit poll in Britain's election projects that Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative Party likely will win a majority of seats in parliament.

That outcome would allow Johnson to fulfil his plan to take the UK out of the EU next month.