EU to examine UK negotiation mandate for trade deal, has no position yet

The European Commission will examine the United Kingdom's negotiation mandate for the trade deal and doesn't have a position yet, the European Commission said in a statement on Thursday.

The Commission said it was likely that the EU-UK trade deal will be assessed in mid-year and noted that it was premature to speculate about the results of trade talks that will kick off only next Monday. 

GBP stays under pressure

These remarks were largely ignored by the market participants and the EUR/GBP pair was last seen trading at 0.8505, adding 0.9% on a daily basis.