Despite earlier hopes that the UK government was on its way to securing an agreement to ensure a soft Brexit, the latest noise suggests that that may not be the case at all. The Pound Sterling came under heavy pressure after comments were made by a North Irish DUP party member who said that it appeared Britain wold not have a divorce deal at the end of March. From that, it could be inferred that the Prime Minister will likely be battling members of her own party to push through an agreement over the Irish borders.
As reported at 11:24 am (GMT) in London, the GBP/USD was trading lower at $1.30, down 0.22% and well off the session peak of $1.3086. The EUR/GBP was trading at 0.87401 Pence, up 0.06%; the pair has ranged from a low of 0.87250 Pence to 0.87543 Pence.
Rally Ends as Hope Fades
The Pound had been rallying this past week, gaining nearly 3% on hopes of a breakthrough deal with a compromise for the Irish border. Jeffrey Donaldson of the DUP said that if Ireland were treated any differently from the other UK provinces then the deal would not be encouraged. Analysts say that until the deal is actually inked then there will be constant uncertainty which will continue to grow as the timeline for the Brexit shrinks.