Pound LIVE: Sterling soars as Davis says trade deals will be signed in March 2019

THE POUND continues to rise on the Dollar as Britain's position on the tricky business of "regulatory alignment" comes to the fore and David Davis confirms that March 2019 is the date for trade deals.

Hammond: We're happy with where the pound is at the moment

3.02pm - Pound up, but day's gains falling

The Pound is up at 1.1423 against the Euro, rise of 0.05 percent, the day's rise is also slipping against the Dollar. Sterlings currently stands at 1.4211, a rise of 0.43 percent. 

1.55pm - Pound stays strong as Davis says trade talks will begin in March 2019

Brexit point-man David Davis has confirmed that the UK will be able to negotiate trade deals as soon as it leaves the EU, amid a Tory row over the UK's approach to Brexit.

Chancellor Philip Hammond suggested on Thursday that changes to the UK-EU trade relations could be "very modest".

No 10 distanced itself from his remarks and one Tory MP said he should "stick to the script" the PM had laid out.

Mr Davis will say that the UK will be able to sign new trade deals in the "transition" period after March 2019.

The Pound is ip 0.62 percent against the Dollar to 1.4238, and up 0.27 percent to 1.447 against the Euro.

11.41am - Britain's four-week deadline

The Pound is doing rather well.

Sterling is up 0.26 percent on the Euro to 1.446, and up on the Dollar 0.81 percent to 1.4265.

Brussels has given Theresa May a four-week deadline to clarify the UK’s “specific” demands for its future trading relationship with the EU, after Chancellor Philip Hammond sparked chaos with talks of a soft Brexit.

EU diplomats are becoming increasingly impatient at the Prime Minister’s lack of clarity on post-Brexit trade and they want a major announcement on her aims for the future relationship before the end of February. 

If the Prime Minister fails to give a speech that sets out the future relationship will work, the EU will only be in a position to plan for a basic free trade agreement, they said. 

One diplomat said: “Otherwise, the EU will have to base its decision on current UK red lines which means the EU probably would not be in a position to offer something more than a basic Free Trade Agreement”. 

Read the full report here.

11.04am - GDP reaction - 'Favourable global economic backdrop'

Commenting on the UK Q4 GDP preliminary estimate, Katharina Utermöhl, European economist at Euler Hermes, told Express.co.uk

“The preliminary Q4 growth estimate underlines the UK economy’s resilience in the aftermath of the Brexit vote. But despite a strong quarter, the economy is already experiencing a clear slowdown which has been masked to some extent by the favourable global economic backdrop.

“The UK economy is increasingly struggling to keep up with its European peers and we expect it to remain an economic laggard this year as the slow-burning growth deceleration already underway is likely to become more pronounced.

"While the Eurozone looks set to expand by a further +2.2 percent this year after +2.5 percent in 2017, we expect UK GDP growth to reach just +1.4 percent this year – one of the lowest growth rates across the EU.”

The Pound is up 0.68 percent on the Dollar to 1.4246.

Pound LiveGETTY

The Pound is still rising on the Dollar

10.06am - UPDATE - Growth 'better than expected'

Read the report here.

The UK economy expanded by 0.5 percent in the final three months of 2017, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The UK's Gross Domestic Product grew by 1.8 percent in 2017, down from 1.9 percent the previous year.

However, the UK has against defied negative IMF and Treasury forecasts by growing by 1.8 percent - a thin increase on the predicted 1.7 percent.

The ONS has once again highlighted the importance of Services to the UK economy with the sector remaining the main driver of growth in its first estimate of GDP for the fourth quarter, up 0.6 percent.

Production also rose, helped by manufacturing which expanded by 0.6 percent.

However, the construction sector fell by a worrying 1 percent and agriculture slowed by a thin 0.4 percent.

8.39am - UPDATE - 'The issue here is not the extent of divergence but the freedom to diverge'

Sterling is up 0.55 percent against the Dollar to 1.4227. Yesterday the price hit 1.43 for a short time, so despite heading north the price looks to have settled above the 1.4 mark for the time being.

The Pound is up a slim 0.02 percent against the Euro at the time of press, sitting at 1.1419.

Britain's health minister Jeremy Hunt has said that Britain should be able to agree an almost identical level of market access to the European Union with a free trade agreement after Brexit because the two sides start from a point of regulatory alignment.

Jeremy Hunt was asked about Britain’s future trading relationship with Europe after finance minister Philip Hammond called for a modest Brexit that would keep Britain as closely aligned as possible with the bloc after its 2019 exit.

Mr Hunt told BBC radio: “The issue here is not the extent of divergence but the freedom to diverge.” 

“We start in the unique position with the EU of total regulatory alignment and that actually makes it much easier to negotiate. That means that we should be able to expect very limited and possibly no changes to market access as a result of the free trade deal that we negotiate.”

Hunt added that Britain would over time be able to take a “sovereign decision” as to where its regulations do or do not diverge.

Pound LiveGETTY

The Pound is enjoying a strong week against the Dollar
Would you like to receive news notifications from Daily Express?