Theresa May, U.K. prime minister, listens to a question from reporters as she delivers a statement on the Brexit agreement during a news conference inside number 10 Downing Street in London, U.K., on Thursday, Nov. 15, 2018.

The British pound rose sharply on Friday morning after U.K. Cabinet misters revealed that a delay to the official Brexit date looks increasingly likely.

The U.K.'s Evening Standard newspaper said that key lawmakers believed a delay on the departure date was probable, due to "a backlog of at least six essential bills that must be passed before Britain leaves the European Union."

A senior minister told the publication: "The legislative timetable is now very very tight indeed." "Certainly, if there was defeat on Tuesday and it took some time before it got resolved, it's hard to see how we can get all the legislation through by March 29."

Sterling shot higher on the news. It had been trading close to 1.272 against the dollar at 9:00 a.m. London time, but soared to $1.284 by 11:00 a.m. before erasing some of those gains.