Morning Bulletin

Friday

• GBP/EUR briefly traded its highest level since May 2017 – the market traded a high of 1.1602 after opening at 1.1552. It eventually closed at 1.1567 representing an increase of 0.13%.
• GBP/USD rallied by 1.03% on Friday. It opened at 1.3062. traded a high of 1.3217, a low of 1.3056 and closed at 1.3197.
• Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar warned a police or army presence could be deployed to the border in the event of a botched Brexit.
• German Ifo business climate came in worse than expected at 99.1 vs 100.7.
• President Trump signed a three-week stopgap bill that will be end the partial government shutdown until February 15th. The deal does not include his requested $5.7 billion for the border wall. The US economy is estimated to have lost $6 billion during the government shutdown.
• ECB’s Knot says the European Unions economy is ‘very much ok’.

• Chinese GDP came in as expected at 6.4%.
• GBP/AUD, GBP/NZD and GBP/JPY are currently trading 1.8334, 1.9215 and 144.11, respectively.

• Theresa May has been urged to secure backstop concessions from the EU. Ex-foreign secretary Boris Johnson says a so-called ‘freedom clause’ would be ‘unadulterated good Brexit news’.
• Some outlets are reporting that Theresa May has sold cabinet ministers in private that she is willing to take a ‘no-deal’ Brexit off the table.
• PM May is due to speak about Brexit at 3.35pm.