Oil firms fall as crude sinks to four-month low

Oil prices fell to a four-month low on concerns about plans to increase supply even as demand cools.

After falling 3 percent below $80 a barrel on Monday, Brent crude fell again yesterday, falling another 2 percent to $77.

That marked 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 oil production cuts from October.

The cartel – led by Saudi Arabia and Russia – has cut production from November 2022 in a move aimed at boosting prices.

The decline will be welcomed by businesses and motorists who could see cheaper petrol and diesel in garage forecourts.

BP shares fell 3.8 percent, or 18.3p, to 462.9p, and Shell lost 2.1 percent, or 59.5p, to 2,723p.

Miners 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 7.8 per cent, or 48p, to 568.5p.

That proved a drag on the broader market, with the FTSE 100 down 0.4 percent, or 30.71 points, to 8,232.04 and the FTSE 250 losing 0.9 percent, or 182.5 points, to 20,717.99.

Cigarette giant British American Tobacco has sounded the alarm over falling cigarette sales in the US and the rise of illegal single-use cigarettes.

The company expects sales and profits in the first half of 2024 to be 1 to 5 percent lower than the previous year. Shares fell 0.5 per cent, or 13p, to 2,422p.

Vistry will build and sell around 1,750 homes to rent in the South East of England.

The housebuilder has signed a £580m deal with Blackstone and its minority investment partner Regis. The houses will be managed by Leaf Living. Shares fell 0.9 per cent, or 12p, to 1297p.

Wizz Air surged after revealing in May that it had carried more than 5 million passengers.

This was 2.1 percent more than the previous year, while its occupancy increased slightly to 91 percent. Shares rose 0.3 per cent, or 6p, to 2,420p.

Cruise company Carnival surged after investment bank Peel Hunt encouraged its clients to buy shares.

The broker pointed to strong demand, rising spending on board 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¸, fell after its profits were all but wiped out.

Profits fell from £3.6m to just £300,000 in the first half to the end of March, while sales fell slightly to £63.6m.

The company said demand has been weak for longer than expected, with trading affected by customers taking more time to buy new stock. Shares fell 5.9 per cent, or 34p, to 540p.

Petrofac shares rose for the first time in more than a month. The oil rig builder delayed publishing its annual results at the end of April at the request of its auditor.

This led to a suspension of its shares from May.

Petrofac released its belated results last week, leading to a resumption of trading in shares yesterday. Shares jumped 29.1 per cent, or 3.05p, to 13.55p.