EU's von der Leyen: Brexit deal has to be done by end-year

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen refrained from commenting on how far Brexit trade deal has advanced but reiterated that they still have a lot of work to do and the pressure is high, as reported by Reuters.

Additional takeaways

"There is better progress and more movement on important files."

"Still problems with level playing field but there is progress on state aid."

"There is a break now because there was a COVID-19 case in the negotiation team."

"The whole team is engaged and working day and night, the deal has to be done by the end of the year."

Market reaction

The GBP/USD pair edged slightly higher after these comments and was last seen gaining 0.12% on the day at 1.3276.