Sterling net shorts hit 3-year high on Brexit worries

LONDON: Speculators increased their short positions on sterling to the highest level in almost three years in the week to last Tuesday, data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has shown, on worries over the impact of a Brexit on the currency.

Net short sterling contracts rose to 51,310 in the week to April 12, the highest since June 2013, as investors added to their bearish bets on the pound for a fourth straight week.

Concerns that Britain could vote to leave the European Union at a referendum on June 23 have driven sterling down over 6 percent since the start of the year on a trade-weighted basis , with most banks saying it would fall further in the event of a Brexit.