Breaking: GBP/USD jumps on reports of EU concession on Irish backstop

Yohay Elam FXStreet

The UK's Times reports that the EU is throwing the UK a "lifeline" over the Irish backstop in an attempt to salvage talks. Here is a quote from the newspaper's publication:

Diplomatic sources close to the talks said European governments are prepared to concede a unilateral revocation of the withdrawal treaty by Stormont after a period of time. The date of 2025 has been mooted, as long as both communities agree to it.

The concession relates to the mechanism related to the backstop, but not to the existence of it. It is essential to note the UK government opposes it. The offer may be insufficient to convince hardliners to back such an accord.

It is also unclear if Ireland is behind the deal. Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has rejected previous suggestions of setting a time limit to the backstop.

GBP/USD has jumped to a daily high of 1.2291 after struggling around 1.22 earlier in the day. Brexit talks seemed doomed on Tuesday after an unfruitful conversation between UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Resistance awaits at 1.2310, 1.2390, and 1.2415. Support awaits at 1.22 and 1.2155.

Here is how the rise looks on the 15-minute chart:

GBP USD jumping on EU Concession Stormont

Author

Yohay Elam

FXStreet

Yohay is in Forex since 2008 when he founded Forex Crunch, a blog crafted in his free time that turned into a fully-fledged currency website later sold to Finixio.

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