- Summary:
- Fears of a no-deal Brexit heighten as EU spokeswoman closes door on renegotiation of withdrawal agreement. British Pound still in bearish mode.
Irish PM Leo Varadkar is one of senior UK officials who fear that a no-deal Brexit is becoming more likely, as the EU has refused new talks on the existing withdrawal agreement.
“I don’t accept no-deal is unavoidable…withdrawal agreement is closed,” he was quoted as saying in statements credited to Reuters.
Michael Gove, Cabinet Minister and known Brexiteer who was recently appointed to spearhead preparations for a no-deal Brexit scenario, still maintains that a new deal is possible. “We can negotiate a new deal,” Gove opined. We remain ready and willing to negotiate.”
However, the EU does not seem to share Dove’s sentiments. Recall that yesterday, the spokeswoman for the European Commission reiterated that the existing withdrawal agreement was the best possible deal that could be made and would not be renegotiated.
A no-deal Brexit is seen as GBP-negative. The British Pound has staged a mild recovery, but the sentiment is still strongly bearish and any more headlines that point towards a hard Brexit is likely to touch off another round of GBP selling. The GBPUSD pair is currently trading at 1.2182, having reached a session high of 1.2208. The down trendline remains intact.