When Britain left the gold standard in September 1931, sterling fell 30 per cent before finding a floor in December of the same year. That was the point at which foreign investors concluded the pound was cheap. To a degree their bet was self-fulfilling because the resulting inflow of capital contributed to a rapid expansion in broad money. And from 1932 to 1938 Britain saw one of its fastest growth spurts in the 20th century. How relevant might that be in relation to Britain’s exit from the EU?

At the beginning of this week, sterling’s depreciation against the dollar from its pre-referendum level was 13.5 per cent. So if the parallel were exact, the pound would have a long way to fall. Yet the differences between the two episodes suggest a much less dramatic outcome.

For a start, the external environment is much less gloomy than in the 1930s slump, with the US continuing to lead a global recovery in the wake of the financial crisis. After last week’s impressively robust non-farm payroll numbers the widespread concern about a US slowdown looks to have been premature. Growth in the eurozone has also been less feeble than many forecasters expected at the start of the year, while China continues to grow relatively fast if not at the same rate as in the past.