GBP/USD falls by about 100 pips before settling closer to 1.2900 now
Cable was treading close to its 200-hour MA (blue line) earlier @ 1.2960 before UK PM Johnson offered a surprise response to the EU summit yesterday in calling for preparations of a no-deal Brexit by January next year.

Reuters reports, citing sources familiar with the matter
That said, the fact he said earlier that does suggest that the door is still open for further Brexit talks to take place before 31 December.

GBP/USD slumps to a low of 1.2910, effectively erasing yesterday’s bounce
The pound is struggling for traction this morning as we get towards the EU summit and despite the optimism from yesterday about the UK possibly extending talks beyond this week, nothing is a given just yet at the moment.

Forex news from the European trading session – 15 October 2020
Headlines:
Markets:
– USD leads, AUD lags on the day
– European equities heavily lower; E-minis down 0.9%

Comments by Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte
European leaders are now starting to arrive for the summit later today, so expect to hear more posturing and remarks such as this in the coming few hours. The roundtable discussion is only expected to take place later at around 1300 GMT today.

UK health secretary, Matt Hancock, confirms on the matter
But no decision has been made on whether to move Greater Manchester into Tier 3, as more meetings are still taking place between ministers and local leaders at the moment.

Sky News deputy political editor, Sam Coates, tweets

The UK brexit negotiating team is back from Brussels after getting an early train. David Frost set to talk to Boris Johnson today about whether talks should continue or there’s no point

UK prime minister, Boris Johnson, remarks in PMQs
He is trying to brush aside the pressure and calls for a ‚circuit breaker‘ lockdown in the UK but if his current approach doesn’t bear fruit soon enough, expect the naysayers to hang the virus situation over his head in the coming weeks/months.

Forex news from the European trading session – 14 October 2020
Headlines:
Markets:
– GBP leads, EUR lags on the day
– European equities lower; E-minis flat

Latest data from the Mortgage Bankers Association for the week ending 9 October 2020
–  +4.6%
– Market index 798.9 vs 804.7 prior
– Purchase index 311.1 vs 316.0 prior
The long-term mortgage rate falls to a new record low on the survey as the drop in mortgage applications largely stems from a slight moderation in purchase activity. That