1600 GMT--There is "no respite in prospect" for sterling. After EUR/GBP easily broke above 0.85, parity "does not seem all that excessive a call any more", says Audrey Childe-Freeman, founder and chief strategist at FX Knowledge. EUR/GBP hit a near three-year high of 0.8550 on Tuesday, while it will "only be a matter of time" before GBP/USD breaks below $1.30, leaving it targeting $1.25. GBP/USD fell to a 31-year low. The falls follow Standard Life, Aviva and now M&G announcing they were suspending trading in commercial property funds as investors pulled out. A weakening U.K. housing sector "usually comes hand in hand with GBP weakness," she says. "The broad U.K. housing sector outlook ... has turned bleak post-Brexit and this may have significant implications for the U.K. macro-economic context." (jessica.fleetham@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 05, 2016 12:14 ET (16:14 GMT)

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