Financial markets were set to parse news that U.K. and EU leaders agreed that they should go “the extra mile” to try to find a compromise on a trade deal, following a Sunday phone conversation.
In a joint statement, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, acknowledged that “deadlines have been missed over and over” during protracted negotiations extending over the past 10 months on their future trade relationship.
Sunday had been viewed as a firm date for an agreement to occur or for a signal that a no-deal Brexit would be at hand with the Dec. 31 deadline for a pact to be struck looming.
The British pound appeared to react favorably, rising against the euro and the U.S. dollar in trade, on reports of an extension of talks.
In recent action on Sunday in New York, the pound
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