Sterling dropped sharply Thursday after Brexit negotiators declared talks between the U.K. and the European Union had reached a deadlock.
The British currency was down 0.6 percent against the dollar for the session at 1:00 p.m. London time.
At the end of their fifth round of negotiations, Michel Barnier, the EU's chief negotiator said the U.K. was once again not ready to detail the financial commitments it needs to make in order to leave the bloc. "Therefore there have been no negotiations on this subject," Barnier said.
Before negotiations move on to trade talks, there needs to be an agreement on how much the U.K. will have to pay to settle the accounts, on citizens' rights and the Irish border. The former seems to be the most contentious problem, which has seen no progress since the U.K. officially declared its intention to leave the European Union.
"On this question we've reached a state of deadlock which is very disturbing for thousands of project promoters in Europe and it's frustrating also for taxpayers," Barnier told reporters in Brussels.
However, Barnier said there had been progress in other areas, including citizens' rights, and he hoped there will be positive developments within the next two months.
"There is a new momentum and I remain convinced today, with the political will, decisive progress is within our grasp within the next two months," he said.
The U.K.'s representative, David Davis, said that technical talks over the so-called exit bill were "rigorous" and worked out in a way that will allow for an agreement in the future.
Once again, the U.K. asked the EU to discuss their future relationship while negotiating the withdrawal — even though both sides agreed at the start of talks to make citizens' rights, the exit bill and the Irish border their priorities before any trade arrangements.
"Our aim is to provide as much certainty as possible to business, citizens and the European Union," Davis told reporters, adding however that "to provide certainty, we must talk about the future."