Brent crude slipped to 91.62 dollars a barrel on Friday as US President Donald Trump said he was making a “final” determination on a potential peace deal with Iran.
Trump had been meeting in the Situation Room to decide on the terms, stressing that Iran must agree never to acquire nuclear weapons and to open the Hormuz shipping lanes.
In a social media post, Trump said Iran “will complete the immediate removal” of mines in the strait and that the US naval blockade of Iranian ports “will now be lifted.”
It remained unclear whether Iran had formally agreed to the terms or whether the US blockade had actually been lifted ahead of Trump’s final decision.
US Vice President JD Vance said Washington and Tehran were close to agreeing a deal to extend their ceasefire in the Middle East war, though the breakthrough still depended on Trump’s approval.
Brent crude fell sharply from 94.57 dollars a barrel at Thursday’s London equities close, reflecting investor optimism over the potential easing of regional tensions.
The FTSE 100 closed down 16.68 points, or 0.2%, at 10,409.28, while the FTSE 250 gained 100.85 points, or 0.4%, finishing at 23,425.77.
The Aim All-Share rose 7.62 points, or 0.9%, to 821.25, and for the week the FTSE 100 fell 0.3%, the FTSE 250 firmed 2.1%, and the Aim All-Share climbed 3.3%.
In European markets, the CAC 40 in Paris ended down 0.1% while Frankfurt’s Dax 40 closed 0.1% higher, reflecting a similarly cautious tone across the continent.
On Wall Street, Dell stormed 31% higher after first quarter earnings beat expectations and the company raised top-line guidance by 30 billion dollars for financial 2027 to between 165 billion and 169 billion dollars.
Analysts at JPMorgan said Dell is “blowing the socks off expectations” and raising its outlook “materially,” making it the standout performer of the session in New York.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.7%, the S&P 500 gained 0.3%, and the Nasdaq Composite firmed 0.2% by Friday afternoon.
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey told an audience in Reykjavik, Iceland, that allowing inflation to remain above target is “appropriate” given current economic uncertainty and weakness.
Bailey said reacting too early to inflation concerns “may generate undesirable volatility,” adding that tolerating temporarily elevated inflation to support the real economy represented the right trade-off.
He cautioned: “But that tolerance would weaken if signs of second-round effects begin to emerge.”
Ocado surged 7.1% on the FTSE 250 after announcing an agreement to develop supermarket Asda’s online grocery Business across the UK, with Asda fulfilling more than 700,000 ecommerce orders weekly.
Bank of America estimated annual revenue from the deal in the range of £21 million to £30 million once the rollout is complete by financial 2028, calling the contract “highly profitable.”
RBC Capital Markets described the deal as a “small negative” for Asda rivals Tesco and J Sainsbury, with Tesco shares falling 2.2% and J Sainsbury declining 2.3% on the day.
Deutsche Bank Research downgraded ratings for Wickes, Dunelm, Currys and B&M European Value Retail, sending the four stocks down 2.2%, 2.3%, 1.0% and 2.4% respectively.
Gold rose to 4,584.74 dollars an ounce from 4,479.57 dollars on Thursday, lifting Endeavour Mining by 4.2% and Fresnillo by 1.4% among the FTSE 100’s biggest risers.