EU referendum: Pound falls to 31-year low

Fears of Britain exiting from the Europan Union (EU) as a result of a historic referendum held on Thursday, has pushed the value of the pound on Friday to its weakest level against the dollar in 31 years.

Market expectations that Britain is on the verge of voting to leave the EU sent the pound down to $1.35, depths it has not been plunged since 1985, the Independent reported.

The pound has already set a record intra-day swing of more than 10 per cent between its high and low points.

The value of the currency soared as high as $1.50 after polls released after 10 p.m. showed 'Remain' in the lead. But that mood changed rapidly when the actual count results started to come in.

Analysts have warned that the pound could fall up to 20 per cent in the wake of a Brexit vote

Meanwhile, FTSE 100 Index future derivatives - which give an indication of where the stock market will open at 8 a.m. - have slumped 6.1 per cent.

US stock-index futures are down more than 3 per cent.

The pound touched a low of $1.3640, down as much as 9 per cent on the session.

Chris Towner, chief economist at HiFX, said: "We still have a lot of votes to come, however the market cannot ignore the momentum and the reality of where the UK is heading."

--IANS

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