Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence, Simon Coveney, said on Friday, “trust is growing in protocol negotiations between the UK and Northern Ireland.”

“Landing zone on the protocol is possible in the next few weeks,” Coveney added.

His comments come a day after the European Commission's President Ursula von der Leyen said she has had "encouraging" meetings with Rishi Sunak over the Northern Ireland Protocol and is "very confident" a solution can be found.

Market reaction

GBP/USD is benefiting from the renewed selling in the US Dollar and the upbeat Brexit headlines, adding 0.26% on the day to trade at 1.2283, at the press time.