European session review: GBP trades mixed, awaiting direction from BoE speeches

GBP traded mixed against its major rivals in the European session on Wednesday as investors awaited speeches from several Bank of England's (BoE) policymakers, including Broadbent and Haldane (due today at 14:30 GMT and 15:30 GMT respectively) and governor Bailey (tomorrow at 14:00 GMT). Investors will scrutinize the officials' comments for any fresh insight into their stance on negative interest rates. Last month, the BoE's governor Andrew Bailey said that negative rates are "in the toolbox," but there are no plans to cut rates below zero in the coming months.

The negotiations on the EU-UK trade deal also remained in focus. The sides are to start the eighth round of talks next week. The EU and UK chief negotiators Michel Barnier and David Frost held informal Brexit negotiations in London on Tuesday. After the talks, the UK Prime Minister Johnson's spokesman said that they would continue to work hard to reach an agreement and look forward to the next round (of talks) next week. “We believe an agreement is still possible and it is still our goal but it is clear that will not be easy to achieve,” he added. Meanwhile, the EU's Barnier said earlier today that they would continue difficult post-Brexit transition talks with patience and determination.