LONDON, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Sterling jumped above $1.28 on
Wednesday after a reporter for Irish broadcaster RTE, citing
European Union sources, said the main stumbling block to a
Brexit deal had been removed.
The pound, down before the report, surged as much as 0.4% to
$1.2840 GBP=D3 , a new five-month high. Against the euro
sterling rose to 85.985 pence EURGBP=D3 .
British government bond futures gave up their gains and UK
domestically-exposed stocks cut their losses after the RTE
report.
According to the reporter, the Northern Irish Democratic
Unionist Party, which props up the British Conservative Party in
the UK parliament, had accepted the latest proposals for a
Brexit deal between London and Brussels. The positive news sparked selling in safe-haven government
bond markets, with Germany's 10-year bond yield rising to its
highest in around 2-1/2 months a -0.397% DE10YT=RR .
British 10-year government bond yields GB10YT=RR were
broadly flat on the day at 0.69% after prices fell back.