Further comments by Coveney

  • UK request on Brexit compromise is unreasonable
  • We cannot sign up to a deal that replaces a guarantee with a promise
  • If there is an alternative that works, we have no problem with that
  • To be honest, we are not close to a deal right now
  • But the 'mood music' has improved on Brexit

I can't say for sure if he's already gone through the documents submitted by the UK government yesterday and if he is responding to that, or part of an earlier narrative when Boris Johnson visited Ireland earlier this month.

But if it is the former, I'm surprised the pound is not taking a bigger hit here with cable still lurking around 1.2560. If anything else, that further reinforces sentiment that the spike yesterday is largely more to do with technical/positioning than the Brexit reality.

I can't say I'd feel too comfortable bidding up the pound amid the narrative we're seeing from Coveney here.