Ireland's Coveney: EU concluded there is no chance of a full free trade agreement by end-2020

The European Union has already concluded that there is no chance for reaching a full free trade agreement with the United Kingdom by the end of 2020, Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said on Wednesday, per Reuters.

"Regardless of what British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says, there will be checks between N.Ireland and rest of the UK," Coveney added. "It is accepted at the EU level that the British government is very unlikely to seek an extension."

GBP struggles to find demand

Ahead of the Bank of England's base rate decision on Thursday, the GBP/USD pair is down 0.25% on the day at 1.2995.