Pound boosted as Trump rows back on claims

Sterling staged a mini comeback after Donald Trump rowed back on comments that a post-Brexit trade deal between Britain and the US could be dead.

The outspoken US president, on an official visit to the UK, had warned Theresa May that her Brexit plan could “kill” any UK-US trade deal because Britain would remain so closely aligned to the European Union.

His comments – which included claims that Boris Johnson has “got what it takes” to be prime minister – sparked a sterling sell-off.

However, Mr Trump then rowed back on the comments, leading to the pound bouncing back to end the session marginally up versus the dollar at 1.32.

Versus the euro, the British currency was flat at 1.13.

As the pound recovered, the FTSE 100 was pegged back but still managed to close in positive territory, ending the day up 10.54 points, or 0.14%, at 7,661.87.

“The reduction of the pound’s Friday decline meant the FTSE lost some of its swagger,” SpreadEx analyst Connor Campbell said.

Across Europe, France’s CAC closed up 0.43% while Germany’s Dax inched up 0.38%.

Brent crude was trading 0.86% higher at 75 US dollars a barrel.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Micro Focus up 57p at 1,278.5p, DCC up 255p at 7,155p, Burberry up 52p at 2,108 and Johnson Matthey up 85p at 3,665p.

The biggest fallers were Randgold Resources down 92p at 5,480p, Imperial Brands down 33.5p at 2,869p, Whitbread down 40p at 4,000 and Sage Group down 6p at 619.4p.