Despite the ticking clock, some optimism over sterling

Analysts are more optimistic than the UK government that an agreement will be reached with the EU next month to move Brexit talks on to trade, even as Theresa May’s political troubles continue to weigh on the country’s beleaguered currency, writes Charlotte Ryan. 

A Bloomberg survey of seven banks pegged the odds of a UK-EU accord in December at 68%. That’s more than UK Brexit secretary David Davis, who put the chances of a breakthrough by December at 50-50, according to European business leaders he briefed at a meeting this week. His spokesman, however, denies he made the comment.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s Peter Kinsella sees the probability of a deal at 80%, the highest in the survey, with the lowest estimated by Mizuho Bank’s Neil Jones at 35%.