The Pound continues to trade bearish against the US dollar into Wednesday after a steep decline following rising concerns about PM Boris Johnson’s insistence on the hard deadline for the end of the post-Brexit transition period. At the time of writing, GBP/USD is trading at around 1.31.

Concerns of an impending no-deal Brexit were heightened once again as markets worry about whether the British government can finalize trade agreements in place with other countries within less than a year after Brexit takes place on January 31, 2020. The transition period officially is set to end on December 31, 2020, leaving Britain with less than a year to formalize trade agreements, which markets worry leaves too little time for proper negotiations.

Further bearishness in GBP/USD was driven by a strengthening in the US dollar on the back of positive economic data releases from the United States. Following reports of a strong rebound in manufacturing production and a better than forecast housing starts data for November, the US dollar soared to its highest levels in a week against its major peers.