|

EU ready to play ball on Brexit, offer UK a trade deal - Bloomberg

As reported by Bloomberg, the European Union's Brexit negotiation team is set to hand UK Prime Minister Theresa May the outline of a potential trade deal, but the free-trade agreement may fall well short of not only PM May's demands, but demands being made within the UK's Eurosceptic parliament.

Key highlights

The EU's proposed trade deal will encompass roughly 30-40% of PM May's current Chequers proposals, undercutting May's targets for free trade and security post-Brexit.

Head EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier will be delivering his proposed outline to EU ambassadors on Wednesday, and it is expected that the document will be as vague and positively-worded as possible in order to aide PM May in selling the deal back home, where hard-line Brexiteers within the UK parliament are seen as a major roadblock to getting any trade deals finalized as the two sides race to get a plan hammered out by next month.

"The EU’s draft on how Britain and the bloc will trade in future will probably run to fewer than 10 pages, three diplomats said, leaving negotiations for the full-blown trade deal to take place after the U.K. leaves in the bloc in March. U.K. officials say it will be much longer. While it falls short of what May wants, it will be broader and deeper than any FTA the EU has struck with other countries and will include “add-ons.” - Bloomberg

Author

Joshua Gibson

Joshua joins the FXStreet team as an Economics and Finance double major from Vancouver Island University with twelve years' experience as an independent trader focusing on technical analysis.

More from Joshua Gibson
Share:

Editor's Picks

EUR/USD deflates to fresh lows, targets 1.1600

The selling pressure on EUR/USD now gathers extra pace, prompting the pair to hit fresh multi-week lows in the 1.1625-1.1620 band on Friday. The continuation of the downward bias comes in response to further gains in the US Dollar as market participants continue to assess the mixed release of US Nonfarm Payrolls in December.

GBP/USD breaks below 1.3400, challenges the 200-day SMA

GBP/USD remains under heavy fire and retreats for the fourth consecutive day on Friday. Indeed, Cable suffers the strong performance of the Greenback, intensified post-mixed NFP, and trades at shouting distance from its critical 200-day SMA near 1.3380.

Gold flirts with yearly tops around $4,500

Gold keeps its positive bias on Friday, adding to Thursday’s advance and challenging yearly highs in the $4,500 region per troy ounce. The risk-off sentiment favours the yellow metal despite the firmer tone in the Greenback and rising US Treasury yields.

Crypto Today: Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP risk further decline as market fear persists amid slowing demand

Bitcoin holds $90,000 but stays below the 50-day EMA as institutional demand wanes. Ethereum steadies above $3,000 but remains structurally weak due to ETF outflows. XRP ETFs resume inflows, but the price struggles to gain ground above key support.

Week ahead – US CPI might challenge the geopolitics-boosted Dollar

Geopolitics may try to steal the limelight from US data. A possible US Supreme Court ruling on tariffs could dictate market movements. A crammed data calendar next week, US CPI comes on Tuesday; Fedspeak to intensify.

XRP trades under pressure amid weak retail demand

XRP presses down on the 50-day EMA support as risk-averse sentiment spreads despite a positive start to 2026. XRP faces declining retail demand, as reflected in futures Open Interest, which has fallen to $4.15 billion.