Sterling was on the up near the end of the session on hopes of a breakthrough in talks between Brussels and London on Northern Ireland’s border and trade.
Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported that the European Union had started testing the UK’s live database tracking goods traffic between Northern Ireland and the rest of Britain.
Resolving differences on customs checks in the Irish Sea would allow talks to move on to the other remaining differences, not least the European Court of Justice’s jurisdiction.
Nonetheless, Irish Prime Minister Simon Coveney appeared to be on board, reportedly saying that he detected “a real intent in London” and that a settlement was within reach by the end of the year.
As of 1623 GMT, cable was trading on the front foot, adding 0.43% to 1.1563.
