Germany's Maas: Proposals presented by Britain last week were a step forward

Germany's Foreign Minister Heiko Maas crossed the wires in the last minutes saying that proposals that were presented by Britain last week were a step forward and added that they still thought an orderly Brexit was possible. 

"We must have an open Irish border and protect the internal market under a Brexit deal," Maas added.

The British pound failed to capitalize on these comments and the GBP/USD pair was last seen trading at 1.2435, losing 0.35% on a daily basis.