Sterling at highest level since second day Johnson was in office
The British pound rose to a nearly two-month high on Friday as a report gave some hopes that the U.K. could leave the European Union in a negotiated manner.
The Times newspaper reported that the Democratic Unionist Party has agreed to shift its red lines, accepting Northern Ireland abiding by some European Union rules after Brexit.
That would allow for replacing the so-called Irish backstop, which Prime Minister Boris Johnson has rejected. The EU has always maintained it is willing to drop the backstop if the U.K. can offer an acceptable alternative.
The pound GBPUSD, +1.3949% rose as high as $1.2455 from $1.2331 on Thursday — the top level since the second day of Johnson’s premiership.
With sterling strong, the FTSE 100 UKX, +0.31% was nearly flat, rising 0.06% to 7348.99.