Pound falls as hedge funds reduce bets on sterling
Hedge funds and other large speculators reduced their bullish bets on sterling to the least since March and the pound fell to about 0.1% from the lowest level in a month against the dollar. Profit warnings by UK companies in the first half rose the most since 2012 as sterling’s world-beating rally weighed on earnings, according to a report by EY, the consulting firm formerly known as Ernst & Young LLP.
The pound was little changed at $1.6986 during morning trading in London after falling to $1.6962 on July 25, the weakest since June 25. The UK currency dropped the most since March last week. Sterling was little changed at 79.10 pence per euro.
The pound has surged 11% in the past year, making it the best performer among 10 developed-nation currencies tracked by Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Indexes. UK government bonds fell.
Bets on an advance in the pound exceeded those wagering on a decline by 27,497 contracts in the week ended July 22, down from 38,770 a week earlier, the latest Commodity Futures Trading Commission data show. They climbed as high as 56,412 in the week through July 4, the most since 2007.
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