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UK’s Brexit minister says he expects a deal by Nov 21, sterling rises 


EU Chief Brexit Negotiator Michel Barnier (R) and Britain's Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab hold a joint press conference at the European Commission in Brussels on August 31, 2018. 

Dursun Aydemir | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

EU Chief Brexit Negotiator Michel Barnier (R) and Britain’s Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab hold a joint press conference at the European Commission in Brussels on August 31, 2018. 

The U.K.’s Brexit secretary, Dominic Raab, told lawmakers Wednesday that he expects the country’s exit deal with the EU to be finalized by November 21.

Sterling surged following the news and was up more than 0.4 percent versus the dollar in afternoon trade Wednesday.

Raab stated the date in a letter to Hilary Benn, the chair of the U.K. Parliament’s Brexit committee. The letter, dated October 24, further stated that “the end is now firmly in sight and, while obstacles remain, it cannot be beyond us to navigate them.”

The U.K.’s main Brexit negotiator added that 95 percent of the U.K.’s withdrawal agreement is now settled, adding that the U.K. the EU had also “made good progress on the structure and scope of the future agreement.”

The sticking point of how to treat the border between Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland, which is a member of the European Union, had previously caused talks to stall.

Raab claimed in his letter that this issue is near to being resolved, for now, as both sides “agree on the principle of a U.K.-wide customs backstop.”

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