The pound has hit a new low in Asian trading as concerns about the UK's vote to leave the European Union continue to weigh on investor confidence.

It touched $1.2798 against the dollar on Wednesday, a fresh 31-year low.

The drop came as US government bond yields fell to record lows as investors rushed for perceived safe havens.

The moves follow decisions by fund managers, including Standard Life and Aviva, to stop investors withdrawing money from their UK property funds.

They said the high levels of uncertainty caused by the referendum had led to investors rushing to pull their money out.

Yields on Australian and Japanese government bonds also hit record lows as the flight to so-called safe havens, or investments that are perceived as less risky, continues.

Bank of England warning

There's been a rush to buy up certain government debt, which saw the yields on the 10-year US, UK and German bonds at or near their lowest on record.

Jitters also sent yields on almost all bonds issued by the Swiss government negative, meaning the return is less than zero.

High demand tends to push up bond prices, and when the price of bonds rises their yield falls.

Investor confidence was undermined by the Bank of England's warning that there was evidence that some of the risks it identified related to Brexit were already emerging.

Disappointing data on the UK services sector and a decline in US factory orders also weighed.

Meanwhile, Asian stock markets are mostly lower due to the renewed Brexit concerns.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 and the broader Topix both shed 2% as the yen, another safe haven investment, strengthened against the US dollar.

Indonesia, India, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines stock markets are closed for holidays.

(BBC)