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As it happened: Miners fuel FTSE 100 recovery; oil jumps as Trump claims Strait of Hormuz

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FTSE 100 stocks rise as Brent crude oil prices jump 1.8% to $104.98 amid Strait of Hormuz tensions and Trumps Iran stance
Oil prices have soared throughout the conflict.

Welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog.

The FTSE 100 is falling on Wednesday as oil prices continue their march upwards and investors digest a jump in inflation.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) put the consumer price index inflation reading at 2.9 per cent for the 12 months to July. The previous inflation reading was 2.6 per cent.

Services inflation, a measure closely watched by Bank of England policymakers given it provides signals on wage pressures, eased to 3.4 per cent while core inflation, which strips out food and energy, was 2.6 per cent.

Oil prices are surging higher for the fourth consecutive session after Donald Trump declared the Strait of Hormuz as US territory.

Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil prices – was climbing towards $92 as there was little indication the narrow waterway was to be reopened, keeping pressure on supply.

It comes after Trump shared a crude map of the Middle East with a large blue circle over Hormuz on Truth Social as he declared the vital shipping route as “NEW US territory”.

On Tuesday night, borrowing costs in some of the world’s leading economies surged to their highest levels since the 2008 financial crisis. The cost of long-term debt surged in the UK, the US, Germany and Japan as investors reacted to rising inflation, government debt levels and spending on AI. 

Susannah Streeter, Wealth Club’s chief investment strategist, said: “The tech-lite nature of the FTSE is keeping it more insulated from turbulence, with the index flat at the open, but the global nature of the index means it isn’t completely immune when optimism evaporates, especially with inflationary concerns moving front and centre in the UK.”

The yield on 10-year Treasury gilts was up four basis points this morning to over five per cent – the highest since July 2023.

We’ll be bringing you all the latest analysis and updates.

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