US President Barack Obama will head to Britain next month and make the case for the UK to stay in the European Union, a British newspaper reported Sunday.

The visit will take place towards the end of April, around two months before the June 23 referendum in which Britain will decide whether to leave or stay in the 28-country bloc, The Independent on Sunday said.

A spokesman for Prime Minister David Cameron's Downing Street office refused to comment on the report, calling it "speculation".

Obama is heading to Germany in late April to talk trade with Chancellor Angela Merkel and promote US exports at the Hanover fair, said to be the world's largest for industrial technology, which takes place between April 25 and 29.

Cameron favours keeping Britain in the EU, following a renegotiation of the UK's relations with Brussels.

Opinion polls indicate that the race is finely balanced, with those who want to remain at 51 percent and those in favour of leaving at 49 percent, according to a poll of polls by the What UK Thinks research project.
Source :AFP