FTSE 100 Live: Stocks to rise; oil at four-month high as Trump eyes ‘keeping’ Iran’s supply
Welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog.
The price of oil has smashed a four-month high following on from last week’s nine per cent rally.
Brent crude – the international benchmark for oil prices – rose towards $108 per barrel on Monday morning following the news that Saudi Arabia had shut a major crude pipeline after drone attacks. The move disrupted a key route used to bypass the Strait of Hormuz as tensions in the Middle East have continued to leave ships averse to travelling through the narrow waterway.
President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the United States may stay in Iran and “keep the oil” as he drew parallels with the US’ push to take control of a fifth of Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.
In his comments, which took places on a trip to Ireland for meetings and to watch golf, the President reiterated that he still expected the Iran war to end this year, potentially just after midterm elections due in the United States in November.
Trump added that the price of gasoline would “drop like a rock” once the war was over.
He said that he would only make the “right deal” and would not do one that was “no good”. He doubled down on previous remarks that Iran was “calling constantly” for peace talks, even though it is an assertion that Tehran has dismissed in the past.
“We’ll ultimately get out (of Iran), unless we decide to stay and keep the oil like Venezuela,” Trump said, adding that the US revenue from Venezuela has “paid for the war many times.”
We’ll be bringing you the latest news and analysis.
Here’s a few of our top headlines this morning
- Burnham told to deliver 10 per cent hospitality VAT after backing tax cut
- How Fevertree is taking on tap water to woo Gen-Z
- Reform hits back at Tory plan to ‘abolish inheritance tax’
- OpenAI delays IPO as Altman says safety comes first
- Rayner warns Reform’s £72m crypto windfall could be caught by new donor rules