Hopes have been raised that a Brexit deal could be struck by the end of the year following comments made in Slovenia by EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier.

Speaking at a business forum, he suggested that the organisation may be softening its stance and that the beginning of November could be a reasonable timeframe to focus on for a deal.

"I think that if we are realistic we are able to reach an agreement on the first stage of this negotiation which is the Brexit treaty within six or eight weeks," Mr Barnier commented.

The Guardian went on to report that an extraordinary Brexit summit may now be scheduled in November to allow EU heads of state to wrap up negotiations on trade, security and a range of other issues.

However, the European Council and European Commission declined to comment on whether or not this was accurate.

Following the comments made by Mr Barnier, the renewed optimism that a no-deal Brexit may be avoided led to the pound rising more than one per cent against the dollar.