British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said that the United Kingdom will not join a post-Brexit trade deal at any cost. The declaration comes five weeks before the UK leaves the European Union.
“With a constructive attitude and goodwill on all sides we can get there,” he told a news outlet. “We absolutely should not be stretching for a deal at any cost, that is not the right thing to do.”
The EU seems ready for the UK to leave without a trade deal, even though the European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen highlighted the “genuine progress” in the Brexit talks. Recently, the EU's chief negotiator threatened to leave the talks should the UK not compromise within the next couple of days.
By 8:57 GMT the pound sterling went down by 0.14 percent against the US dollar, falling to the 1.3364 level.
Japan's Leading Economic Index Lower than Expected
The Japanese Cabinet Office reported that the Leading Economic Index for September stood at 92.5, higher than the previous month's 88.5 but below expectations of 92.9. The Coincident Index stood at 81.1 in September, after being at 79.4 in the previous month and higher than expectations of 80.8.
So far, 135,400 COVID-19 cases have been reported in Japan, as well as 2,001 deaths. Cases have been surging as of late, while the government insists on curbing the spread by implementing its backward contact tracing system.
By 9:16 GMT, the US dollar went down by 0.18 percent against the Japanese yen to the 104.27 level.