German Chancellor's spokesman declines to comment on details of phone call with UK PM

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman crossed the wires in the last minutes confirming that there had been a phone call between British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Angela Merkel but declined to comment on the details of their conversation.

According to several news outlets, a No 10 source familiar with the conversation said that a Brexit deal was "essentially impossible" after the call between Johnson and Merkel.

The British pound stays under pressure against its major rivals and the GBP/USD is now losing 0.5% on the day at 1.2230.