Donald Trump spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping by telephone on Thursday, the state-owned Xinhua news agency said, amid simmering trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies.

The European Central Bank today cut its benchmark deposit rate by 0.25 percentage points, taking it to 2 per cent.

Centrica has reached a £20bn deal to buy gas from Norway over the coming decade, in a sign that the UK will remain reliant on fossil fuel imports as it winds down North Sea exploration.