Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin said on Friday that he detects genuine desire from all sides to solve issues relating to the Northern Ireland Protocol (NIP). His comments follow comments from influential UK Minister Michael Gove, who said that he was confident that we will be able to make progress in discussions relating to the NIP without triggering Article 16. 

However, earlier in the session, UK Brexit Minister Lord David Frost said that significant gaps still remain between the UK and EU and that a triggering of Article 16 remained on the table. Meanwhile, European Commission Vice President confirmed to the press that the EU was offering to the UK a permanent 50% cut in customs-related paperwork. 

Market Reaction 

GBP has not seen any notable reaction to the latest Brexit-related updates.