In the run-up to June 23, the daily performance of sterling against the dollar was viewed as a key barometer of how likely it was that the UK electorate would vote to stay in the European Union.

As opinion polls wavered, so sterling moved accordingly.

So closely aligned were the two that as the campaign came to a close, some – wrongly as it turned out – took the strength of the national currency as a firm indicator of the eventual outcome.

Indeed the pound popped as high as $1.50 in the hours immediately after the polls closed that night, following early indications that the Remain camp had won by a narrow margin.

But when those indications turned out to be wide of the mark, so sterling fell, sharply, hitting $1.3236 at one stage in the early hours of June 24, as traders attempted to rehedge their positions.

That downward trajectory has continued, with sterling touching $1.2798 against the greenback on Wednesday morning, levels not seen since June 1985.