FTSE 100 Live: Diploma leads stocks as pound ticks up; Oil dips March 18, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. The FTSE 100 index closed up 0.8 per cent higher on Tuesday at 10,403.60p. The gains were accompanied by a stronger performance from the pound, which finished up $1.334 by the time London markets closed, compared to $1.329 on Monday. Sterling and the City were [...]
‘No one expects’ Bank of England to cut interest rates, says former MPC member March 17, 2026 A former member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has said that “no one expects a cut” to interest rates amidst deepening conflict in the Middle East. Prof Jonathan Haskel, who is also a member of City AM’s Shadow Monetary Policy Committee, told BBC Radio 4’s ‘Today’ programme he believes a rates [...]
‘Pressure point’: Oil prices spike as Trump turns up heat on Nato March 16, 2026 The price of oil spiked once more as trading for the new week began after Donald Trump ramped up pressure on his Nato peers to help get supply flowing. Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil prices, jumped 2.9 per cent as trading open after the weekend to near $106.12 a barrel, but later gave [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks jump, Oil spikes, fresh Thames Water rescue deal March 16, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. This morning Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil prices, rose 1.8 per cent to $104.98 per barrel during early trading in Asia. It follows President Trump stating he is unwilling to make a deal with Iran and his energy secretary warning the war will [...]
Manufacturers warn of ‘fragile footing’ as Iran war threatens to hike costs March 16, 2026 UK manufacturing has started the year on “fragile footing,” with its economic standing likely to worsen due to the conflict in the Middle East, the sector’s industry has warned. A new report from Make UK revealed the sector is set to grow by just shy one one per cent in 2026, a modest rebound after [...]
Oil crisis to ‘push UK into recession’ after growth flatlines March 13, 2026 Fears that the ongoing crisis in the Middle East will plunge the UK into a recession have been amplified after fresh figures revealed the economy flatlined in January. The price of oil closed above $100 for the first time since 2022 last night as interventions from the global energy body failed to calm markets amid [...]
‘Taxed to a standstill’ – UK economy grinds to a halt with no growth in January March 13, 2026 The UK economy saw zero growth in the first month of the year – before global markets were rocked by the outbreak of war in the Middle East. Fresh figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have handed a major blow to Rachel Reeves with the economy flat in January, compared to the 0.2 [...]
Oil surges again as industry faces ‘largest disruption in history of the market’ March 12, 2026 The global energy body has warned the current oil crisis triggered by the war in the Middle East marks the “largest disruption” in history of the commodity’s market. The International Energy Agency (IEA) made a record intervention in the market on Wednesday, with the release of 400m barrels from the strategic reserves. But the move [...]
Global energy body to release 400m oil barrels in emergency boost March 11, 2026 The global energy body has announced it will release a record 400 million barrels from emergency oil reserves in a bid to contain spiking prices. The International Energy Agency’s (IEA) executive director Faith Birol said on Wednesday the market “challenges we are facing are unprecedented in scale”. “IEA member countries have responded with an emergency [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Iran war ‘certainly not good’ for UK economy, says Rachel Reeves March 11, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM liveblog for continued coverage of a frenzied week in global markets. The Chancellor has told the Treasury select committee that the ongoing fallout from the Middle east is “certainly not good for the British economy”. Following the “most intense” day of fighting in the region – and just a [...]