Sterling was lower against the greenback on expectations that the Prime Minister's Brexit proposal, as it relates to the backstop at the Irish border, will not be well accepted by EU officials. Boris Johnson is set to hand over the proposal today, and at the time, asset that the EU's failure to accept the terms will essentially mean no-deal for the Brexit deadline on October 31st. The government, per Johnson's staff, will not accept postponement as an option.
The GBP/USD was trading down at $1.2262, a loss of 0.2408% as of 11:27 am in London. The pair has traded from a low of $1.22263 to a peak of $1.23167 in today's session. The EUR/GBP is higher at 0.8903 Pence, a gain of 0.1293% and off the earlier session high of 0.89257 Pence.
UK PMI Disappoints
Also in the UK, the latest construction survey was a disappointment for FX traders. According to Markit Surveys, the Construction sector PMI for September was lower than expected with a reading of 43.3, against the forecasts of a flat reading of 45.0. The Services Sector PMI is due out tomorrow for the UK and analysts are calling for a slight decline to 50.3, down from 50.6 in the previous reading.