Continued decline in price of oil acts as headwind for stock markets

The Ftse struggled to make headway yesterday as the falling price of crude dragged on stocks after a key meeting of oil producers ended in stalemate.

The Qatar summit at the weekend saw Saudi Arabia willing to cut production, but Iran continues to increase output following the recent lifting of Western sanctions against it.

The Ftse 100 was up 9.7 points to 6,353.5 as Brent crude dropped 2.8% to more than $42 a barrel after the Doha meeting broke up without agreement.

Royal Dutch Shell and BP fell 13.5p (17c) to 1805p and 0.2p to 355.8p, recovering from heavier losses in the session. Travel stocks picked up on the prospect of lower fuel prices following the fallout of the Doha talks, with TUI rising 24p to 1065p, Easyjet stepping up 10p to 1457p, while British Airways-owner IAG climbed 1.5p to 535.5p.

Elsewhere in Europe, Germany’s Dax was up nearly 0.7%, while the CAC 40 in France stepped up 0.4%.

The pound was up 0.2% against the euro at 1.26 despite British chancellor George Osborne warning that Britain’s economy would shrink 6% by 2030 if the country replicated Canada’s trading agreement with the EU.

Sterling also rose 0.5% against the dollar at 1.42. The pound has come under fire in recent months amid fears that Britain could vote to leave the EU.

Shares in British Gas owner Centrica fell by more than 1.5% as the firm lost 224,000 customers in the first three months of the year as competition in the energy market continues to bite.

The group put the loss down to customers coming off long-term fixed-price contracts, and consumers switching suppliers as smaller rivals put Big Six players under price pressure. Shares fell 3.7p to 234.6p.

The biggest risers in the Ftse were BT Group, up 10.9p to 454.9p; TUI, up 24p to 1065p; Anglo American, up 15.3p to 693.6p; and Reckitt Benckiser, up 133p to 6868p.

The biggest fallers were Arm Holdings, down 38p to 952p; and Antofagasta, down 12.8p to 458.2p.