Sterling firmed modestly versus the dollar, benefiting from the greenback’s retreat and signs a Brexit deal was almost done, though the prickly Irish border issue and disagreements within the UK ruling party capped gains.
British Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to tell parliament later that 95 percent of the country’s divorce deal has been settled. However, she will maintain opposition to the European Union’s proposal for the land border with Northern Ireland.
That issue scuppered efforts to reach a Brexit deal at last week’s summit, and a proposal to extend a status-quo transition period beyond the current proposed date of December 2021 has angered the Eurosceptics in her party.
There’s a lot of discussion in the market over the possibility of a no-confidence motion against May, which has increased over the weekend.
This issue is hanging over sterling, which is (also) waiting for another steer on Brexit, likely from this address from May later on today.