Oil prices fell to a four-month low as investors worried a slowdown in the global economy was hurting demand.
In a turbulent day for commodity markets, Brent crude fell more than 5 percent to below $77 a barrel, its lowest level since early July.
As recently as September, oil was near $97 a barrel, and last month the World Bank warned it could rise above $150 if the conflict in Gaza triggered a full-scale war in the Middle East.
The drop in prices will be welcomed by businesses and motorists who can benefit from cheaper petrol and diesel.
But it had little impact for oil shares in London, with BP falling 2.84 per cent or 13.7p to 468.4 and Shell falling 3.04 per cent or 80p to 2,555.5p, while mid-cap rival Harbor Energy fell 7.37 per cent or 17.8p to 223.9. Came to p. ,
In a turbulent day for commodity markets, Brent crude fell more than 5 percent to below $77 a barrel, its lowest level since early July.
A slide in heavy oil stocks helped push the broader London market into the red after three days of gains.
Signs of optimism re-emerged this week after inflation in Britain and the US came in lower than expected, fueling speculation about when interest rates might be cut.
But the markets went into turmoil again yesterday as the FTSE 100 fell 1.01 per cent or 75.94 points to 7,410.97 and the FTSE 250 fell 1.74 per cent or 325 points to 18,351.48.
Trading was also slow in Europe, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Wall Street slipped 0.13 percent.
Danny Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell, said: ‘There was only going to be a limited time for the inflation relief rally to last – and today time ran out.
‘Investors haven’t changed their minds about when they expect interest rates to start falling, but they also can’t ignore the fact that there’s a long time between now and then, here and now. There is still some loss due to this. difficult.’
Stock Watch – Celadon Pharmaceuticals
Celadon Pharmaceuticals has signed its third contract in six months for its cannabis-based medicines.
The West Midlands group’s latest deal is with a European medicinal cannabis company and could be worth up to £26 million over three years. He has the option to extend the contract by two years.
Celadon grows its own hemp indoors and believes this has attracted European companies. The shares, which peaked at 320p in January 2021, rose 29.52 per cent, or 24.5p, to 107.5p.
There was some optimism from Great Portland Estates, which owns offices and shops in the West End and the City of London. It said it was now buying more assets than selling in the capital for the first time in a decade.
With workers returning to central London, it also upgraded its outlook for rental growth.
But as higher interest rates eroded the value of its property portfolio – which fell 10.3 per cent to £2.3bn in the six months to September 30 – shares fell 5.35 per cent or 23.8p to 421.4p.
CAB Payments rose 3.08 per cent, or 1.9p, to 63.5p after reports that a senior executive called a former top 20 investor to reassure him the company would meet its revised forecasts.
Oliver Brown, a fund manager at RC Brown, said the London-listed company was ‘absolutely adamant that they will not receive any further profit warnings’. [in 2023],
The group, which specializes in money transfers to emerging markets, plunged 72 percent in a single day last month after warning that its revenue for this year should be worse than expected.
Kier Group faced its third shareholder revolt in as many years over fatcat pay as 39 per cent of investors voted against the remuneration policy at its AGM.
Shares in the construction group slipped 0.57 per cent or 0.6p to 105.4p.
Almost a fifth of Wetherspoon’s shareholders voted against the re-election of pub chain boss Tim Martin at its AGM. Shares fell 5.88 per cent or 43.5p to 696.5p.
There was better news for Aviva after the insurer’s written premiums rose 13 per cent to £8bn in the three months to September 30.
It said there was an increase in weather-related claims, but this was in line with expectations following wildfires and flooding in Canada, as well as Hurricanes Babette and Ciaran in Britain. Shares fell 0.24 per cent or 1p to 413p.
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
