Investing.com - The pound rallied on Monday, gaining ground against the dollar and the euro following reports that Britain and the European Union are close to a breakthrough in phase one of Brexit talks.
GBP/USD was up 0.42% to 1.3528 by 07:07 AM ET (12:07 GMT), from around 1.3426 earlier.
The pound strengthened following reports that Britain made a key concession over the Irish border, offering no divergence between Northern Ireland and the Republic over single market and customs union rules.
Ireland, backed by the EU, is seeking assurances that Britain will commit to keeping business regulations in Northern Ireland the same as in the EU, to avoid a 'hard border' that could disrupt peace on the island.
British Prime Minister Theresa May is hoping that talks with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and his Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier on Monday can persuade EU leaders that "sufficient progress" has been made on divorce terms for them to agree next week to open talks on their future trade relationship.
With the clock ticking down to the March 2019 exit date, May is under pressure to start talks on its future trade ties by the end of the year to remove uncertainty for companies that do business in the EU.
Sterling was also higher against the euro, with EUR/GBP down 0.82% to 0.8757.