US and China are 'very close' to striking a trade deal, Donald Trump says

Washington and Beijing "are every" close to striking a preliminary trade deal, the US President reportedly said on Friday morning.

In remarks to FOX and Friends, Donald Trump reportedly said that: "We have a deal potentially very close.

"He [Chinese President Xi Jinping] wants to make it much more than I want to make it. I'm not anxious to make it. We're taking in hundreds of billions of dollars in tariffs."

The President added that he did not like Xi's calls for equality, arguing that America was "starting off from the floor" while the People's Republic of China "was at the ceiling" as a result of the $500.0bn that the Asian giant received from the US each year.

As of 1442 GMT and in the wake of his remarks, futures on the Dow Jones Industrials were pointing to a 32.0 point gain at the opening bell, alongside an advance of 6.75 points for the S&P 500 to 3,110.75, while the Nasdaq-100 was expected to put on another 16.25 points to 8,290.75.