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 74.311 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.
“European car makers are lower after Mr Trump threatened to impose a 25% tariffs on EU cars that are imported into the US. The announcement from the US President last night is a reminder to the markets as to how unpredictably he can behave.”
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.
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