The GBP has held a bearish bias for several years, since the Brexit vote in 2016, although it had a period of peace from March until September, due to coronavirus woes. In September the attention turned back to Brexit, which softened the GBP again, but in the past few weeks the comments have been promising, pointing to a possible trade deal soon.

As a result, the GBP/USD has been bullish, climbing around 7 cents from late September. Today though, we heard comments from the EU, which didn’t sound too optimistic, and the GBP has turned bearish again.

Daily Express Brussels correspondent, Joe Barnes, tweets

EU diplomat says: ‘The gaps on level playing field, governance and fisheries remain large. Michel Barnier wasn’t able to to say at this stage whether a deal would be possible. Without London taking the necessary decisions quickly, reaching a deal will be all but impossible.’