Oil prices fell to their lowest level in four months on concerns over plans to increase supply even as demand cools.
After falling 3 percent on Monday to below $80 a barrel, Brent crude was on the decline again yesterday, falling another 2 percent to $77.
That was the second day of losses since the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and its allies agreed that members could start phasing out voluntary cuts in oil production from October.
The cartel – led by Saudi Arabia and Russia – has restricted production since November 2022 in an attempt to drive up prices.
The downturn will be welcomed by businesses and motorists who could see cheaper petrol and diesel in garages.
Shares in BP fell 3.8 percent, or 18.3p, to 462.9p, and Shell lost 2.1 percent, or 59.5p, to 2,723p.
The mining sector also came under pressure, with Anglo American down 4 per cent, or 99.5p, to 2,403.5p, Glencore down 2.7 per cent, or 13.1p, to 468.4p and Fresnillo down 7.8p. percent, or 48p, to 568.5p.
That proved a drag on the broader market and the FTSE 100 fell 0.4 percent, or 30.71 points, to 8,232.04 and the FTSE 250 lost 0.9 percent, or 182.5 points, to 20,717.99.
Cigarette giant British American Tobacco sounded the alarm about declining cigarette sales in the US and an increase in illegal disposable vapes.
The company expects turnover and profit for the first half of 2024 to be between 1 and 5 percent lower than the previous year. Shares fell 0.5 percent, or 13p, to 2422p.
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Vistry will build and sell approximately 1,750 rental properties in the south east of England.
The housebuilder signed a £580 million deal with Blackstone and its minority investment partner Regis. The homes will be managed by Leaf Living. Shares fell 0.9 percent, or 12p, to 1,297p.
Wizz Air skyrocketed after revealing it carried more than 5 million passengers in May.
That was 2.1 percent more than the year before, while the occupancy rate rose slightly to 91 percent. Shares rose 0.3 percent, or 6p, to 2420p.
Cruise company Carnival rose sharply after investment bank Peel Hunt encouraged its clients to buy the shares.
The broker pointed to high demand, rising onboard spending from customers taking advantage of special offers and increasing mass market appeal.
Shares rose 7.3 per cent, or 79.5p, to 1173.5p.
Gooch & Housego, which makes products such as medical eye scanners, went bankrupt after its profits were nearly wiped out.
Profits fell from £3.6m to just £300,000 in the first half to the end of March, while turnover fell slightly to £63.6m.
The company said demand will be weak for longer than hoped as trading is affected by customers taking more time to buy new shares. Shares fell 5.9 percent, or 34p, to 540p.
Petrofac shares soared after trading for the first time in more than a month. At the request of its accountant, the oil rig builder postponed the publication of its annual figures at the end of April.
This resulted in a suspension of the shares since May.
Petrofac published its delayed results last week, prompting trading to resume yesterday. Shares rose 29.1 percent, or 3.05p, to 13.55p.
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