Key Trump economic adviser Gary Cohn resigns

US President Donald Trump’s top economic adviser Gary Cohn is resigning, the White House has said.

It is the latest in a series of high-profile departures from President Trump’s team.

Cohn, who heads the National Economic Council, had reportedly threatened to leave after Trump’s incendiary comments following the deadly race riot in Charlottesville, Virginia.

There has also been speculation that Cohn, a supported of free trade, was angered by Trump’s plans to impose tariffs on aluminium and steel imports.

In a statement released by the White House, Cohn said it had been "an honour to serve my country".

The 57-year-old former president of the Goldman Sachs bank helped Trump push through his sweeping tax reforms late last year.

However, the two were not believed to be close.

Futures trading pointed to a sharp 1.3% drop in shares on Wall Street when business starts again on Wednesday morning and investors take in the departure of the pro-free trade adviser.

The dollar dropped 0.6% against the yen in the Asian markets session but recovered the lost ground as the day progressed.

In a statement given to the New York Times, which first broke the story, Trump said: “Gary has been my chief economic adviser and did a superb job in driving our agenda, helping to deliver historic tax cuts and reforms and unleashing the American economy once again. He is a rare talent, and I thank him for his dedicated service to the American people.”

Later on Tuesday, the president tweeted his intention to appoint a replacement soon, adding: “Many people wanting the job - will choose wisely!”

Last week, one of his closest aides, Hope Hicks, resigned. She was the fourth person to have served as the president's communications chief.

It came a day after she had testified in front of the House Intelligence Committee investigating possible Trump campaign ties to Russia, but White House sources said this was not the reason.