GBP Comes Off Highs as Deal Confirmed

In typical buy the rumour, sell the fact fashion, GBP softened as UK and EU confirmed a Brexit deal had been struck between the negotiating teams, which was then signed off by both UK PM Johnson and EU's Von der Leyen. The deal now passes to a reconvening of UK parliament before the end of 2020, at which UK lawmakers are highly likely to sign off on the deal. Full coverage on the deal here.

GBP/USD rallied throughout the morning ahead of the formal announcement, touching 1.3619 before fading - not quite managing to hit new 2020 high, which remains in tact at Dec 17's 1.3624.

Amid holiday-thinned trade elsewhere, equities crept higher on the continent and in the US morning, helping keep a lid on haven currencies. The JPY and CHF were among the poorest performers.

The Turkish central bank hiked rates by a larger margin than expected, boosting the one-week repo rate by 200bps to 17.00% vs. Exp. 16.50%. TRY rallied in sympathy, pressuring USD/TRY back toward the mid-November lows of 7.5140.