The pound strengthened to an eight-day high yesterday on hopes that a Brexit deal will be reached. This morning, it’s choppy against the euro and the dollar. Eurosceptic members in the Conservative Party have said that the latest Brexit plan could mean that there is a chance of achieving a “tolerable deal.”
Addressing Parliament yesterday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the proposals are a “genuine attempt to bridge the chasm.” However, the plan received a mixed reception at best, with Jeremy Corbyn calling it “unrealistic and damaging” and the SNP’s Ian Blackford deeming it a “half-baked plan.”
There was also an underwhelming reaction from the EU, with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar saying that the new plans were welcome, but “fall short in a number of aspects.” The European Commission said that “further work is needed.”
The government say that they are aiming to reach a final agreement at the EU summit on the 17th of October.
A trio of poor economic data figures this week show that manufacturing, services and construction are now all in contraction territory. This has raised fears of an upcoming recession.
