Hedge funds and other currency speculators have ramped up their bearish bets on the Japanese yen to the highest levels seen since April 2022, according to a report by Bloomberg, indicating sentiment that weakness in the currency will persist.

The report cites data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as revealing that leveraged funds boosted their net-short position in the yen to 65,490 contracts in the week ended 14 November.

The yen remains the worst-performing G10 currency so far this year, despite strengthening on Friday to 149.7 against the US dollar, largely down to the Bank of Japan's loose monetary policy which is at odds with other major central banks.