Economy

Brent crude jumped close to 6% to around $97 a barrel on Monday 1 June 2026 after Iranian agency Tasnim reported the suspension of nuclear talks with the United States. The reversal reinstates a geopolitical risk premium and complicates the European Central Bank’s policy assessment ahead of its 11 June meeting.

The Bank of England’s next rate decision on 18 June is in sharp focus after the Monetary Policy Committee held Bank Rate at 3.75% in April by an 8-1 vote, with UK inflation at 3.3% and the Middle East energy shock keeping the prospect of higher rates firmly alive.

With eurozone inflation accelerating to 3.0% in April on surging energy costs from the Middle East war, the European Central Bank approaches its June meeting under pressure to consider its first rate increase in years, after holding the deposit rate at 2% since mid-2025.

The FTSE 100 closed up 0.13% at 10,505.01 on Wednesday 27 May 2026, lifted by lower oil and resilient corporate earnings. Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s October 2024 capital gains tax rise drove receipts to a record £24.3 billion in 2025-26, while a group of 15 UK retailers urged the government to impose a £2.60 charge on small parcel imports.

European equity markets traded mixed on Wednesday 27 May 2026 as Brent crude plunged 4-5% on news that Iranian state television had seen a draft framework deal with Washington. CAC 40 closed up 0.43% at 8,207.89, FTSE 100 finished up 0.13% at 10,505.01, while the DAX edged 0.03% lower amid divergent sector reactions.

With the London Stock Exchange closed for the Spring Bank Holiday on Monday 25 May 2026, UK investors and homeowners are looking ahead to the Bank of England’s 18 June rate decision. FTSE 100 closed Friday at 10,466.26 (+2.7% week-on-week), while Nationwide cut its 2-year fixed mortgage at 60% LTV to 4.35%.

While Wall Street and the London Stock Exchange remained closed on Monday 25 May 2026 for Memorial Day and Spring Bank Holiday respectively, the Paris Stock Exchange operated normally despite the Whit Monday public holiday in France. Brent crude fell about 5% to under $99 a barrel as President Trump described US-Iran talks as proceeding in a ‘constructive manner’.

London’s premier equity indices closed the week ending 24 May on a buoyant note, with the FTSE 100 reaching a record high of 9,158 points as investors welcomed the Bank of England’s decision to maintain interest rates and absorbed optimistic forecasts from major Wall Street analysts. The domestically-focused FTSE 250 posted stronger gains, climbing 0.9%…

The Office for National Statistics has confirmed the UK economy grew by 0.3% in the first quarter of 2026, marking a modest but steady expansion driven primarily by the services sector, though manufacturing weakness continues to pose challenges for the broader recovery. The second estimate, released on 23 May, left the initial growth figure unchanged…

The European Union has finalised a comprehensive overhaul of its steel safeguard measures, establishing annual tariff-free import quotas of 18.3 million tonnes and imposing a 50 per cent duty on volumes exceeding that threshold. The provisional agreement between Parliament and Council, formally endorsed on 23 May, will take effect on 1 July 2026, replacing temporary…