Investing.com - The Investing.com weekly sentiment index published on Monday revealed that speculators added to their bearish bets on the British pound last week, amid growing anxiety over the prospect of the U.K. exiting the European Union.
According to the report, 28.3% of investors were long GBP/USD in the week ended June 10, falling from 38.1% a week earlier.
Jitters ahead of Britain's June 23 referendum on European Union membership mounted after U.K. polls over the weekend suggested momentum for the campaign to leave the bloc is gaining momentum.
Meanwhile, 22.8% of investors held long positions in EUR/USD as of last week, tumbling from 32.5% in the preceding week.
Amongst the safe-haven currencies, 35.4% of market participants held long positions in USD/JPY, compared to 50.6% in the previous week, while 51.3% of investors were long USD/CHF, increasing from 45.9%.
In the commodity-linked currencies space, 49.8% were long USD/CAD, rising from 41.0% a week earlier, 38.4% held long positions in AUD/USD, compared to 42.8% in the preceding week, while 36.6% were long NZD/USD, down from 38.4% a week earlier.
The report also showed that 57.8% of market participants held long positions in gold futures as of last week, gaining from 55.9% in the preceding week.
Elsewhere, 21.6% of investors were long the S&P 500, dropping sharply from 32.1% a week earlier.
A reading between 50%-70% is bullish for the instrument, a reading between 30% and 50% is bearish, a reading above 70% indicates overbought conditions and a reading below 30% indicates oversold conditions.
The Investing.com series of indexes is developed in-house. Each index measures overall exposure to major currency pairs, commodities and indexes, using data from futures exchanges and OTC providers on all long and short open positions.