'Leave' scents victory in Britain's EU vote, pound crashes

The British currency fell as much nine percent to a 30-year-low below $1.35, marking a sharper dive even than on 'Black Wednesday' in 1992 when financier George Soros was instrumental in pushing the pound out of the Exchange Rate Mechanism that predated the euro.

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Bookmakers adjusted their odds to reflect the likelihood of a 'Brexit', with the Betfair Internet betting exchange putting that probability at 94 percent as tallies showed the Leave camp doing better than expected across large swathes of the country.

Such an outcome would shake the European Union to its core, potentially fuelling the rise of anti-EU movements across the continent and marking the start of a two-year divorce process that would create uncertainty for companies and investors.

With results declared from 282 of 382 voting districts plus parts of Northern Ireland, Leave was ahead by 51.6 percent to 48.4 in the referendum.