FTSE 100 Edges Down as Iran Uncertainty Persists; PMQs This Afternoon
The FTSE 100 opened slightly lower on Wednesday at 10,482, down 9 points from Tuesday’s five-week-high close of 10,491.39. Brent crude eased to $98.03 a barrel from $100.18 yesterday, giving back some of Tuesday’s 4% surge as traders weighed conflicting signals on the US-Iran framework. Sterling steadied at $1.3447. Iran accused the United States of breaching the ceasefire and warned it was ready to retaliate after overnight US strikes on Monday targeting Iranian missile sites and mine-laying boats. Today’s PMQs at midday is the first parliamentary session since the Spring Bank Holiday and falls 22 days before the Makerfield by-election.
Some LNG tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz in recent days lifted expectations the waterway could reopen, adding to global supply expectations and weighing on crude. WTI fell 2.7% to $91.37 in early trading. The pullback in oil came as markets digested conflicting signals from the Hormuz corridor. Iran’s internet connectivity was simultaneously restored to a large extent on Wednesday after 88 days of near-total isolation from international networks, internet monitor NetBlocks said — a development markets read as a tentative confidence-building measure. PMQs today will be Sir Keir Starmer’s first parliamentary set-piece since the Camp David Cabinet meeting begins in Washington and against the backdrop of an oil-price move that, if it holds, would compound the Reeves cost-of-living package’s impact on UK household budgets.