Oil prices rise to two-month high as EU looks to ban Russia – Business Live | oil
This may have been a fairly nice gain for the FTSE 100, but it never pushed it to its highest point in a month.
Markets rebounded at the end of last week, and continued their momentum on Monday (although the US trading desks will likely be absent later thanks to a holiday).
Some analysts attribute the optimism in the markets to the prospects for a Chinese economic recovery after a period of severe shutdown that disrupted the market that was once the engine of global growth.
Richard HunterHead of Markets at interactive investorinvestment platform, said:
Asian markets added to the positive momentum as China began easing lockdown restrictions in both Beijing and Shanghai. The Prime Minister announced that there will be a set of measures aimed at boosting the beleaguered economy, with more details to follow soon.
However, the damage has largely been done over the past few months, with an inevitable drop in consumer sentiment tied to a higher unemployment rate, and many economists predicting a downturn in the current quarter. However, the marked improvement in the fractured US-China relationship has also improved sentiment, especially given the constraints that global economies have had to endure this year.
It’s a fairly nice start to the trading day on the London Stock Exchange (and that is expected to continue when there is a rare public holiday in the US, which means Wall Street is closed). But there are some notable moves.
Among the middle hats on the FTSE 250 homebuilder country side The advantage is the obvious: its shares gained as much as 29% after San Francisco-based Inclusive Capital Partners (it likes to be known as In-Cap) made a £1.5bn takeover offer – its second approach over the past two months.
Countryside In-Cap has notified it will not participate in negotiations, according to a stock market announcement Monday — creating the possibility of a higher bid.
In-Cap owned 9.2% of the shares on Friday.
Introduction: EU’s plan to embargo Russia pushes oil prices above $120 a barrel
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of business, economics and financial markets.
Oil prices hit a two-month high as traders anticipate a delayed deal to limit Russian oil imports into the European Union along with other factors such as rebounding demand in China as lockdown restrictions ease.
Brent crude futures rose above $120 a barrel on Monday morning for the first time since late March. The 50-cent gain for the day equated to a 0.4% increase in the North Sea benchmark, while its North American counterpart, West Texas Intermediate, was also up 0.7% to $115 a barrel.
The European Union should be able to agree to new sanctions, including on Russian oil, on Monday ahead of a summit of each country’s leaders, according to its foreign policy coordinator, Josep Borrell.
Borrell told France Info radio, according to Reuters:
We need to take a unanimous decision. There were tough conversations yesterday afternoon, as well as this morning.
I think we will be able this afternoon to present an agreement to the heads of member states.
However, it remains to be seen whether the proposed ban will have teeth, with European governments at odds. Hungary in particular, led by Viktor Orban who has long had a close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, has stood in the way of the embargo in recent weeks, in part due to the country’s dependence on Russian oil.
The European Union is working on a compromise plan that would ban Russian oil in tankers but allow pipeline imports, meaning Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic could continue to receive oil via the Soviet-era Druzhba pipeline that ran through Ukraine.
Asked whether plans to include a ban on importing Russian oil might fail due to resistance from Hungary and other eastern European countries, Borrell said: “No, I don’t think so… There will be an agreement in the end.”
European stock markets started the week in the lead, with the Stoxx 600 index of major European companies up 0.7% in opening trading. Germany’s DAX rose 0.8 percent and France’s CAC 40 index rose 0.6 percent.
In the UK, the FTSE 100 Index is up 0.4% and the FTSE 250 Medium Index is up 0.9%.
US markets are closed today for the Memorial Day holiday.
schedule of work
10 am GMT: Eurozone Economic Sentiment Index (May; previous 105; consensus: 104.9)
1 pm GMT: Germany’s annual inflation rate (May; previous: 7.4%; consensus: 7.6%)
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