Senior UK official: We are equally close to breakthrough and breakdown in negotiations – Reuters

The UK is equally close to a breakthrough and a breakdown in Brexit negotiations with the EU, a senior UK official involved in talks told Reuters on Thursday.

Additional takeaways

"This is a normal negotiation, progress so far is genuine."

"Only way forward is to have textual negotiation, get into detail."

"Expecting talks to continue in the second half of August and into September."

"There is no formal cut off date for talks."

"Question now is whether the EU can adapt its position."

"EU understood the presence of the European Court of Justice in a deal is a non-starter."

"Puzzled by Barnier comments calling for the UK to publish state aid policy."

"We have made a big move towards the EU position on the structure of a possible agreement."

Market reaction

These remarks don't seem to be helping the GBP pare its losses against its rivals. As of writing, the GBP/USD pair was down 0.32% on the day at 1.2692.