Europe's biggest fund Amundi sees 60 pct chance of Brexit deal before March

LONDON, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Britain will likely avoid crashing out of the European Union without a withdrawal arrangement, Amundi Asset Management said on Tuesday, adding that it believed there was a 60 percent chance a Brexit deal would be ratified before March.

Amundi (Berlin: 350155.BE - news) , which manages 1.45 trillion euros in assets, said its most likely scenario was that the March 29 scheduled Brexit date arrived "with a ratified deal".

However, the fund manager said there was a slightly increased probability that the UK remained in the EU beyond March, and the overall uncertainty made it cautious about buying the British pound.

"Given the uncertainties surrounding the Brexit outcome, sterling will likely continue to be under pressure, with some downside risks remaining," Amundi said in a statement. (Reporting by Tommy Wilkes, Editing by Abhinav Ramnarayan)