Investing.com - The pound dropped further in ASia on Friday as investors saw a down to the wire outcome for the U.K. referendum to stay or leave the European Union spark volatile trade across markets.
GBP/USD crashed 8.31% to 1.3641 as the results hung in the balance until early friday in London, while the euro fell 3.08% to 1.1031. USD/JPY dropped 4.32% to 101.59 as investors sought safe-haven currencies and AUD/USD dropped 2.99% to 0.7389.
Political leaders and officials, with the exception of UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage, have avoided forecasting the result.
"I think that Remain might just nick it," Farage said.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, surged 2.52% to 95.68.
Updated poll figures on the U.K. referendum on membership of the European Union have led analysts and betting oddsmakers to expect a nearly split vote between "Remain" and "Leave."
Analysts at JP Morgan, based on results, said they were pointing to 51.5% to 48.5% for Leave, while bookies leaned that way as well. Sterling plunged on the early results, falling from close to $1.50 as the last polls were published to below $1.40.
The initial shock came from a crushing victory for 'Leave' in Sunderland in the north-east of England. There have since been a string of results that have been markedly stronger for 'Leave' than pundits had expected.
The one remaining hope for the Remain camp was that London would come out very strongly for staying in, with the first sizeable constituency, Lambeth, coming out 79% for 'Remain'.
Overnight, sterling and the euro pulled back from the day’s highs on Thursday amid jitters over the outcome of the historic referendum on whether the U.K. should remain in the European Union.
The pound hit the day’s highs after an opinion poll, conducted by polling company Ipsos MORI for the Evening Standard newspaper, indicated that the remain campaign was in the lead as voting continued in the landmark referendum.
The Ipsos MORI poll showed that that 52% of voters wanted to remain in the EU, compared to 48% in favor of Leaving. Sterling had already reviewed a boost late Wednesday after opinion polls indicated that support for the Remain campaign edged into the lead.
Polling stations will close at 10 p.m. London time and final results are due at around 7 a.m. London time.
Investors fear that a Brexit vote would hit global stocks, bonds and currencies, in particular the pound, which some analysts have predicted could slump by 15%.
Reuters reported Thursday that finance leaders from the G7 nations will issue a statement stressing their readiness to take all necessary steps to calm markets in the event of a Brexit vote.
Rating agency Standard and Poor’s said Thursday that Britain’s triple A credit rating would be downgraded within a short period of time if the U.K. were to exit.
In the U.S., data showed that initial jobless claims fell less than expected last week.
The Labor Department said the number of initial jobless claims fell to 259,000 in the week ending 18 June, from 277,000 a week earlier. It was the largest decline since February and not far from a 43-year low hit in March.
Economists had forecast a more modest drop to 270,000. Another report showed that U.S. new home sales declined 6.0% in May, after hitting a more than eight-year high in April.