The currency earlier climbed above $1.50 for the first time since December after a nationwide YouGov Plc survey conducted on the day of the vote showed a 52 percent share for the status quo.
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Children pose next to a chalkboard advertising a Brexit viewing event at “The Churchill Tavern”, a British theme bar, on the day where Britain votes whether or not to remain in the European Union in the Manhattan borough of NY.
The pound could fall even further, with some analysts having forecast prior to the voting that it would drop to as low as US$1.20 in a Brexit scenario.
The SocGen outlook is practically rosy compared to the sub-$1.15 range that famed investor George Soros is forecasting.
“The sterling will move alongside with the vote result announcement today”.
A high turnout was expected in the referendum, despite torrential rain in South-East England which forced the closure of some polling stations and caused transport disruption for commuters planning to vote on their way home.
Alongside the biggest moves in the pound in living memory the euro, which is expected to struggle given worries about the impact of a “Brexit” on the eurozone economy, also dropped sharply against the dollar.
“It’s definitely tin hats time. If “Leave” wins there will be carnage for cable (U.S. dollar/sterling)”, said Joe Rundle, head of trading at ETX Capital.Against the yen, it skidded to as low as 146.00 from an early high of 160.14.
After it was announced on Friday morning that the United Kingdom had backed Brexit, the value of the British pound immediately dropped to the lowest it has been in over 30 years.
Asian stock markets are already being routed, as traders watch the events unfold in the UK.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) has been planning for the possibility of a Brexit vote for “many months”, Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Blankfein said in a memo.
The representative in France for hardship charity Elizabeth Finn Fund, Mary Hughes, said: Were anxious about whats going to happen now, about the healthcare we currently get and whether state pensions will be frozen in the future as they are in Australia and Canada..
Pro-Leave Tories including Boris Johnson and Michael Gove signed a letter to David Cameron urging him to stay on as leader whatever the result of the referendum. Mr Redwood said the PM should bring in talent from the Leave side to build “a new government to bind the country together”. With the pound plummeting I think we will be really busy again.
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Much depends on the sort of deal that the European Union offers Britain – if it allows London continued access to the bloc’s single market then financial companies would retain the right to sell their products across the European Union – but negotiations will take time. Senior leave campaigners have called victory.
