MARKET REPORT

OIL prices have reached a two-week high following a report that showed a drop in crude inventories in the US.

The Energy Information Administration report showed US stockpiles declined by 5.83 million barrels, a far bigger drop than analysts were expecting.

This sent Brent crude upwards, with prices rising 2.1% to 74.3 US dollars a barrel during trading.

Markets put in a mixed performance as trade tensions between the US and both China and the EU continued to impact stock movements.

David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets, said: “Chinese delegates are set to meet US representatives today to discuss trade. The meeting will hopefully lay the groundwork for a meeting between President Trump and the Chinese in November.”

By the close, the FTSE 100 was up 0.11% or 8.54 points to 7,574.24, while the Cac in France rose 0.25% and the Dax in Germany was flat.

In currency markets, the US dollar weakened as traders mulled over Mr Trump’s comments about the Federal Reseve raising rates.

Sterling was up 0.05% against the dollar at 1.290, while the euro rose 0.17% against the dollar to 1.159.

The pound weakened against the euro, however, falling by 0.13% to 1.113.

In a quiet day for the corporate calendar, Capita said it had recruited Go-Ahead’s Patrick Butcher as its new finance chief to help the outsourcer with a radical transformation strategy.

Debenhams’ shares rose 0.11p to 13.47p after it announced the appointment of former Domino’s Pizza executive as its new finance chief as the troubled retailer attempts to turn itself around. The group said Rachel Osborne, who has also done stints at John Lewis and B&Q owner Kingfisher, will join on September 17.

Avast raised its full-year margin guidance after posting solid revenue and profits growth in the first half, boosting shares by 7.4p to 237p.

The cybersecurity firm saw adjusted earnings rise 11% to 222.1 million US dollars (£170m) in the six months to June. Adjusted revenue, excluding the impact of currency and discontinued business, rose 8.5% to 394.3 million US dollars (£305m).

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Ocado Group up 20.5p to 1,100p, Fresnillo up 16.6p to 946.8p, BHP Billiton up 25.4p to 1,636p and DS Smith up 7.5p to 504.2p.

The biggest fallers were NMC Health down 150p to 3,908p, Easyjet down 57.5p to 1,554.5p, and Johnson Matthey down 109p to 3,533p.