Brexit

The announcements of a deal from both sides of the Brexit debacle came out over the course of the New York session on Christmas Eve. The deal dismissed a cliff-edge scenario, preventing goods being stuck in queues at the borders. However, services agreements were kept limited largely to a non-discrimination clause. Nevertheless, the pound was predicted to rally by several analysts.

Here we are. The UK has since 1 January departed from the EU in economic terms. While the country officially left the EU on 31 January 2020, a transition period had maintained it within the EU's single market and customs union until the end of 2020. During this period, negotiations were held in order to define the terms of the two parties' future relationship. The British and European negotiators eventually found a trade and cooperation agreement on 24 December 2020.