Sterling outlook darkens as UK referendum looms

The odds are stacking up against sterling for 2016.

With growth slowing and the potential for a referendum on Britain’s future in the EU as soon as June, options traders are the most bearish on the UK currency in more than six months.

The currency has undershot analysts’ forecasts by the most since 2010 this year, while predictions for the end of 2016 haven’t been lower since the week of the general election in May.