European Union (EU) Brexit chief negotiator Michel Barnier said trade agreements with the UK were still possible and negotiations were ongoing to resolve the barriers to agreement.
Michel Barnier, who briefed EU ambassadors on the progress of EU-UK negotiations as a weekly routine, said the two conditions were still unresolved.
Both parties are said to be far apart in the issue of national aid and have shifted further to the issue of fisheries. Meanwhile, there has been limited progress in trade negotiations on enforcement mechanisms.
This caused him to see the hope of reaching a deal was small.
However, the consultants will provide every opportunity available to reach a mutual agreement.
Despite Barnier's less convincing remarks, optimism that talks continue this week has prompted the pound sterling to rise higher at the beginning of the European session leading to a price target of 1.34000 against the USD.
However, investors are still unclear whether a scenario without an agreement can be avoided, given that both sides are still stuck on key issues.
