There had been the sense that the EU and Britain would agree to a deal before the deadline, which is a different day depending on leadership (Boris Johnson's self-imposed deadline is today, while the EU's is October 31st). Regardless, analysts say that even without a deal by those dates, there is no hard stop to the negotiations. Many feel the Prime Minister's deadline is not achievable and that it will likely go through to the end of this month. That is, to a slight degree say currency strategists, weighing on Sterling but the hope is that any deal will provide positive relief.
In London as of 11:03 am, the GBP/USD was trading lower at $1.2970, down 0.3235% and off the session trough of $1.29357. The EUR/GBP was higher at 0.9028 Pence, a gain of 0.0222%; the pair's range in today's trade was from a low of 0.90139 Pence to a high of 0.90503.
Markets to Focus on US Data
Markets will be waiting for news out of the US, primarily updated labor information but also the Philadelphia and New York branches of the Federal Reserve Bank's manufacturing survey for October. Analysts recently polled are calling for continuing claims for unemployment benefits to fall slightly for the week ended October 2nd, to 10.7 million from the previous 10.976 million. Initial claims for benefits are also expected to show a decline to 825,000 from 840,000 for the week ended October 9th. The NY Fed's Manufacturing Index is expected to decline to a reading of 15 (from 17), while the Philadelphia Fed's Manufacturing Survey is likely to show a reading of 14 from the previous 15.