(Bloomberg) -- Citigroup Inc. is marketing a rare pound bond amid growing skepticism that a Brexit deal will be agreed this month.

The U.S. banking giant is offering a benchmark-sized sale of seven-year notes at about 150 basis points above U.K. gilts, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because they’re not authorized to speak about it. It’s only the second pound note sale this week, following a rush of deals in September. Citi is the sole bookrunner on the deal.

Prospects of a Brexit deal being agreed are fading Wednesday, as Boris Johnson’s Northern Irish allies resist plans drawn up after talks in Brussels. That’s a change in mood from Tuesday, when sterling company bond spreads tightened and the riskiest pound bonds of lenders including Barclays Plc rallied, following reports of “constructive” talks between U.K. and European Union negotiators on a draft Brexit deal.

Marketwide sales of pound bonds will reach at least 5.6 billion pounds ($7 billion) for October following the Citigroup deal, well short of the 18.7 billion pounds raised in September, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Citigroup returned to the syndicated sterling market in January after an almost 10-year absence, selling 750 million pounds of five-year notes at 175 basis points over gilts. Those notes have since tightened by more than 50 basis points, according to pricing source CBBT at 9:40 am London.

To contact the reporter on this story: Priscila Azevedo Rocha in London at pazevedoroch@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Hannah Benjamin at hbenjamin1@bloomberg.net, Neil Denslow

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