Sterling continued to seesaw in Asia and early London trade dropping to a low of 1.3360 on disappointment that there was no announcement of a deal yesterday, only to pop back on comments from Philip Hammond that talks were progressing well. Behind the scenes, the key issue is the status of Northern Ireland and the unfettered movement of goods services across all of the Irish isles. PM May appears ready to concede those points to the Irish, but the carve out of these rights could open up pandora’s box of problems for Ms. May as the Scotts and even the city of London — both hot spots of Remain sentiment may seek the very same privileges. In addition, Ms. May’s junior coalition partners the hard right DUP party could withdraw from the government on any such deal. For now the markets are in a wait and see mode, but volatility in cable is sure to explode on any tangible news one way or the other.

Any positive news could send the GBPUSD pair to fresh yearly highs above 1.3600, but if the deal falls through the decline could take the pair all the way to 1.3000