Pound dollar exchange rate: UK and Germany Brexit progress

Markets Insider

• The British
  pound jumped versus the US dollar after a report said
  Germany is prepared to make a major Brexit compromise.
• German officials are prepared to “accept a less
  detailed agreement on the UK’s future economic and trade ties
  with the EU in a bid to get a Brexit deal done,” Bloomberg
  reported.
• The pound spiked higher, climbing around 0.9% on the
  day to close to $1.30.
• 
  Watch
  the British pound trade in real time here.
  

LONDON — The British
pound has jumped higher against the US dollar on Wednesday
after a report suggested Germany has agreed to a significant
compromise with the UK during Brexit talks.

Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources, that German officials
are prepared to “accept a less detailed agreement on the
UK’s future economic and trade ties with the EU in a bid to get a
Brexit deal done.”

While Germany does not represent the entirety of the EU, as
the bloc’s largest economy, and its de facto leader, its stance
is hugely influential.

The news buoyed investors in the pound, as it is likely to
be seen as a major concession from Germany, which had previously
been highly focused on details.

As such, the pound spiked higher, climbing almost 1%
against the dollar on the day, although it remained below the
psychologically significant $1.30 level, and remained highly
subdued in historical terms. By 2.40 p.m. BST (9.40 a.m. ET), the
pound dollar exchange rate was at $1.2968, a gain of 0.88% on the
day.

“$GBP showing how it is much more sensitive to good news
vs. bad news,” Viraj Patel, an FX strategist at Dutch bank ING
said in
a tweet shortly after the move. “May not last (like post
Barnier) but dips make $GBP attractive,”

He added: “The more positive Brexit headlines we get, the
harder it’ll be for $GBP bears to ignore.”