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 [...]
Reeves vows ‘greater support’ for poorer Brits as Iran oil island hit March 14, 2026 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has suggested poorer households will receive “greater support” in an energy subsidy package as oil supply worries intensified after a key Iranian island was attacked. Reeves has said she “found the money” to announce a support package for people not supported by the energy price cap, including rural communities which use heating [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks drop as oil returns to near $100 after tankers attacked March 12, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. The price of oil shot back above triple digits this morning, rising as much as nine per cent in Asian trading following the news two tankers were struck in the Gulf. An Iraqi news agency broke the news that 38 crew members have been rescued [...]
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 [...]
World’s top oil producer warns ‘catastrophic consequences’ after Iran threats March 10, 2026 The world’s top oil producer has warned of “catastrophic consequences” for the commodity’s global market after Iran threatened to block key shipping routes. Saudi Aramco – the state-owned national oil company of Saudi Arabia which controls over 270 billion barrels of reserves – has sounded the alarm that the Iran’s blocking of the Strait of [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks soar and oil dips as Trump says war is ‘very complete’ March 10, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. It was a day of whiplash for global markets as they kicked off the new week. Stock markets from Europe to Asia and Wall Street sunk into the red on open as the price of oil rose at the fastest rate in six-years. Brent crude, [...]