The pound slid against foreign currencies on Monday morning as traders continued to move their money out of sterling ahead of the EU referendum.

Sterling fell to its lowest level against the Japanese yen since 2013.

It also hit a two-month low against the dollar, following a slide on Friday that wiped two cents off the value of the pound.

Against the euro, sterling hit a six-week low at 1.2592 per pound. The pound fell to as low as 151.50 yen, its lowest level since August 2013, while the euro fell to 119.87 yen, a level last seen in April 2013.

By the end of Monday trading, Sterling had recovered all of its losses.

Analysts said that that investors were high-tailing it out of sterling as anxiety about a possible vote to leave the EU sky-rocketed, but could not give a clear reason for the recovery at the end of Monday trading.

The pound swung as traders awaited the release of a Brexit poll conducted by ICM, which showed that support for Brexit had grown to 53 per cent and that the proportion backing remain had shrunk to 47 per cent.

"Ahead of the referendum, many look for sterling to underperform and the yen and Swiss franc to outperform," said Marc Chandler, global head of currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman.

Many investors are looking not only at Brexit but at a cocktail of other global economic events, including central bank updates and news of possible interest rate rises from the US Federal Reserve on Wednesday and the Japanese and English banks on Thursday.

The pound fell to its lowest level against the yen since 2013 and was also down against the dollar and euro (Pound falls)

David Buik, a market commentator at Panmure Gordon, said that the pound has fallen 9 per cent since November on the threat of higher interest rates in the US.

"It should not be forgotten that the UK’s economy has been coming off the boil for some months with growth falling from 2.4 per cent in 2016 to 2 per cent and may even drop to 1.8 per cent by the end of the year. So the contribution so far from the threat of Brexit I would venture to suggest is modest," he said.

The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit Show all 7 1 /7 The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit 22 May 2015 In his regular column in The Express Nigel Farage utilised the concerns over Putin and the EU to deliver a tongue in cheek conclusion. “With friends like these, who needs enemies?” PA The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit 13 November 2015 UKIP MEP for Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire Mike Hookem, was one of several political figures who took no time to harness the toxic atmosphere just moments after Paris attacks to push an agenda. “Cameron says we’re safer in the EU. Well I’m in the centre of the EU and it doesn’t feel very safe.” Getty Images The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit 19 April 2016 In an article written for The Guardian, Michael Gove attempts to bolster his argument with a highly charged metaphor in which he likens UK remaining in the EU to a hostage situation. “We’re voting to be hostages locked in the back of the car and driven headlong towards deeper EU integration.” Rex The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit 26 April 2016 In a move that is hard to decipher, let alone understand, Mike Hookem stuck it to Obama re-tweeting a UKIP advertisement that utilises a quote from the film: ‘Love Actually’ to dishonour the US stance on the EU. “A friend who bullies us is no longer a friend” The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit 10 May 2016 During a speech in London former work and pensions secretary Ian Duncan Smith said that EU migration would cause an increasing divide between people who benefit from immigration and people who couldn’t not find work because of uncontrolled migration. “The European Union is a ‘force for social injustice’ which backs the ‘haves rather than the have-nots.” EPA The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit 15 May 2016 Cartoon character Boris Johnson made the news again over controversial comments that the EU had the same goal as Hitler in trying to create a political super state. “Napoleon, Hitler, various people tried this out, and it ends tragically.” “The EU is an attempt to do this by different methods.” PA The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit 16 May 2016 During a tour of the women’s clothing manufacturer David Nieper, Boris had ample time to cook up a new metaphor, arguably eclipsing Gove’s in which he compares the EU to ‘badly designed undergarments.’ “So I just say to all those who prophecy doom and gloom for the British Business, I say their pants are on fire. Let’s say knickers to the pessimists, knickers to all those who talk Britain down.” Getty Images

The threat of Brexit has sent derivatives traders into overdrive, pushing sterling volatility, or the amount the currency is expected to move in the coming month, to over 28 per cent.

The record high was north of 30 per cent at the height of the financial crisis in October 2008.

Meanwhile the FTSE 100 index of the 100 biggest UK companies fell up to 0.7 per cent on opening to trade, down more than 40 points.