European Parliament approves Brexit deal as expected

The European Parliament voted in favour of approving the Brexit deal, 621 vs 49, allowing Brexit to take place on Friday. 

Earlier in the day, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the UK will not be able to bring back the benefits of being an EU member with the new partnership deal.

"The EU will be vigilant in Brexit deal implementation in Northern Ireland," von der Leyen noted and added a precondition for a zero-quotas, zero-tariffs trade deal with Britain will be the "level playing field."

GBP/USD consolidates losses above 1.30

The GBP/USD pair paid no mind to this development as it was largely expected. As of writing, the pair was down 0.12% on the day at 1.3012.