The pound slipped more than 5 per cent in volatile trading as early results pointed the way to a shock victory for the Leave camp in the UK referendum on EU membership.
Dramatic falls in sterling peppered market activity, wiping out earlier market confidence from exit polls that suggested the Remain camp would prevail.
So acute was market uncertainty that sharp falls were quickly followed by equally severe rises.
That sparked a record 6.9 per cent cent intraday range for the pound, eclipsing the 6.5 per cent achieved in the October 2008 crash and smashing the 4.9 per cent range on Black Wednesday in 1992.
Jeremy Cook, chief economist at payments company World First, said sterling was “dying”., adding:
“The usual caveats exist about liquidity but these moves are concerning and bring back pretty painful memories of 2008,” he said.
Before any results had been declared, the pound had risen above the psychological mark of $1.50, a gain of 0.9 per cent in early Asian trading, its highest level since December 17.
Market confidence was driven by a YouGov poll released after the polls closed at 10pm on Thursday, which indicated 52 per cent backing Remain and 48 per cent in favour of Leave.
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