Pound Hits New Low Amid Fresh Market Turmoil

The pound has plumbed new depths against the US dollar as it slid below $1.28 amid intensifying fears over the impact of the vote to leave the EU.

Stock markets were also on the back foot on Wednesday, with the FTSE 100 down by over 100 points or 1.5%, wiping more than £25bn off the value of its constituent companies.

The fall in the pound took it to a new 31-year low - after it had already tumbled steeply in the wake of last month's referendum result.

Its latest decline saw it slip by as much as two cents in overnight trading though it later recovered some of that ground.

A weak pound means higher prices for British holiday makers and makes imported goods including many supermarket staples more expensive, though it can help exporters sell their wares abroad as they will be cheaper for foreign buyers.

Meanwhile there were sharp share price declines led by supermarkets as figures showed the sector was still in the grip of sliding food prices and a report from analysts at HSBC suggested there would be more to come.

House builders, which have been under pressure since the UK voted to quit the EU, were also seeing falls.

In Europe, Germany's Dax and France's Cac 40 were each down by about 2%.

:: Firms Roll Up Their Sleeves After EU Vote

Deepening fears about the fall-out from Brexit have pushed investors towards bonds – parcels of Government debt seen as safe havens even though the returns they yield have shrunk sharply as demand for them pushes up their price.

The pound has been dragged lower in recent days as three British commercial property funds worth about £9bn suspended trading , after the referendum prompted a rapid increase in investors trying cash in their holdings.

Aviva Investors blamed "extraordinary market circumstances" as it halted dealing in its UK property trust, a day after a similar move by Standard Life Investments. M&G Investments also suspended a major property portfolio.

Meanwhile economic survey data pointed to a second quarter slowdown in gross domestic product (GDP) growth to just 0.2% - fuelling expectations that the Bank of England could cut interest rates as soon as next week.

The Bank has stepped up efforts to allay the potential volatility from Brexit by easing capital rules for banks, allowing them to expand lending to households and businesses by up to £150bn.

Governor Mark Carney said pre-referendum warnings about what might happen in the event of a Brexit vote had "begun to crystallise" - including a hit to commercial property - and that the UK "has entered a period of uncertainty and significant market adjustment".

Angus Nicholson, market analyst at IG (LSE: IGG.L - news) , said: "Mark Carney, almost the only British leader who seems to not be resigning at the moment, emphasised the challenges the UK economy will suffer in the post-Brexit world.

"Carney's speech seems to have initiated the dawning of realisation of the longer-term impact of Brexit for many in the markets (Other OTC: UBGXF - news) ."