Investing.com - The pound recovered slightly on Friday after falling to three-decade lows against the dollar overnight after Britain voted to leave the European Union in a historic referendum.
GBP/USD was last at 1.3672, still down 8.05% for the day, after falling to a trough of 1.3231 overnight, the lowest level since 1985.
The U.K. voted by a substantial margin to leave the EU in a landmark referendum, with the Leave side winning 52% of the vote, against 48% to remain.
Scotland and London voted overwhelmingly for remain, but Wales and the U.K. outside London voted for Brexit.
The referendum turnout was 72%, with more than 30 million people voting.
British Prime Minister David Cameron was expected to make a statement calling for stability and unity following the shock result.
The Bank of England said Friday it would take all necessary steps to secure monetary and financial stability after the shock Brexit result.
"The Bank of England is monitoring developments closely," it said in a statement.
"It has undertaken extensive contingency planning and is working closely with HM Treasury, other domestic authorities and overseas central banks."
Sterling also pared back early sharp losses against the euro and the yen
EUR/GBP was last up 5.33% at 0.8058, off overnight highs of 0.8316, the most since April 2014.
GBP/JPY fell to lows of 133.21 overnight, the weakest level since December 2012, before pulling back to 140.51, still down 11% for the day.
The yen trimmed back gains against the dollar, with USD/JPY last at 102.49, after falling as low as 98.97 earlier, the lowest level since November 2013.
Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said Friday that Tokyo will respond as needed to "extremely nervous" exchange-rate moves, as the referendum result roiled markets.
The euro was still down almost 3% against the dollar, with EUR/USD at 1.1076, holding above overnight lows of 1.0913.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, jumped 2.57% to 95.77 after hitting overnight highs of 96.70.