Oil hits $95 per barrel; ‘no evidence’ of politicians being debanked over views – business live
Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as Brent crude hits 10-month high and Nigel Farage criticises FCA investigation
In the City, B&Q owner Kingfisher has cut its full-year earnings outlook after being hit by wet weather and low consumer confidence.
Pre-tax profits at Kingfisher dropped by a third in the six months to 31 July, the company reported this morning, to £317m from £474m. Like-for-like sales were down 2.2%.
“Our LFL sales in H1 were slightly ahead of expectations, against a backdrop of unseasonal weather and ongoing macroeconomic challenges in our markets.
Kingfisher missed the mark in the first half and warned profits will fall further than previously anticipated over the full year. Analysts already had doubts over its annual goal but the cut today was much sharper than hoped thanks to tepid sales and because the inflationary environment is weighing on margins.
Still, many in the oil markets think OPEC+ is unlikely to pursue prices over $100/bbl, but they see near-term bullish risks to their forecasts from recent developments.
The recent surge in oil prices, which have reached a 10-month high of $95 per barrel (bbl), is causing ripples across the global economy and financial markets. One of the contributing factors to this surge is the extended unilateral output cuts implemented by major oil-producing nations like Saudi Arabia and Russia. These cuts have effectively tightened the global oil supply, pushing prices higher.
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