The pound sterling slumped to its lowest point in more than three decades on Friday and the Canadian dollar posted its worst loss in six years after the "leave" side won Britain's referendum on European Union membership.
Uncertainty over the vote results sent the pound on a wild ride. Just after polls closed, it rose to its highest point of the year at $1.50 U.S. About six hours later, it tumbled more than 10% to $1.323 U.S., its lowest level in 31 years.
That swing, to its lowest level since 1985, marked the biggest one-day move in the history of the modern pound, shocking financial markets, as pollsters and forecasters had almost uniformly predicted a narrow victory for the "remain" side.
Most world currencies were lower as investors rushed to the safety of the U.S. dollar.
The Canadian dollar lost 1.54 cents to change hands at 76.74 U.S.. If it holds through the day, that would be the worst one-day performance for the loonie since 2010.
The sudden dips was endemic of broader uncertainty in global financial markets sparked by the vote.
The euro weakened to $1.0955 from $1.1318 U.S. Oil was just over $48.00 U.S. a barrel in New York, lower by 3% and poised for its worst day since April.
Gold touched its highest point in two years after results showed the "leave" side had won, at one point trading at $1.336 U.S. an ounce. Gold typically rallies during times of economic uncertainty.
The move was bad news for stock futures, as the Dow Jones was poised to open off more than 500 points as of 6:30 a.m. ET on Friday morning.
In European stock markets, meanwhile, it was a sea of red.
Germany's DAX was off by more than 7%, France's CAC-40 by almost 9%, Italy's main stock index hesitated 10%, and Spain's IBEX index was down by more than 11%.
