The FTSE 100 Index completed its best week in three years today - just a week after its worst in three years.
London’s top-flight was up 3.9% after recent market jitters were assuaged by indications from the US Federal Reserve that while the world’s largest economy is improving there will be no hurry to raise interest rates.
The FTSE 100 has enjoyed its biggest weekly climb since December 2011, adding £62 billion to the value of its constituent companies.
US drivers are paying less than $2.50 a gallon at the pump for the first time in more than five years.
Retail gasoline averaged $2.477 a gallon yesterday, data from the Heathrow, Florida-based motoring group AAA showed.
That’s down from this year’s peak of $3.696 in April and the first time it has dipped below $2.50 since October 2009.
Marathon Oil has estimated its investment and exploration budget will be 20% lower for 2015.
The company said the capital program of around $4.5billion for next year will reflect a significant weighting to the company’s high return investment opportunities in the US as well as lower exploration spending.
Marathon said the “continuing dynamic change” in crude oil markets, together with the expected impact to oilfield service cost, mean it will need additional time before the budget is finalised.
A pledge by US policymakers that they will be patient in their approach to raising interest rates helped ease global market jitters today.
The latest meeting of the US Federal Reserve highlighted optimism over the country’s economic performance but appeared to rule out a rates rise in the first quarter of the year.
The message lifted the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Wall Street by more than 1.5% and helped the FTSE 100 Index improve 35.3 points to 6371.9 after a strong session for Asian markets overnight.
The FTSE 100 Index held on to strong gains in the previous session today as a bullish start for Wall Street and an oil price bounce helped blue-chip shares recover from earlier turbulence.
A volatile session on Tuesday hit by jitters over the price of oil and the slide in value of the Russian rouble had seen the index close 2.5% ahead.
The latest session saw it earlier fall by nearly 100 points but recover to close 4.6 points up at 6336.5. Oil climbed back above the 60 US dollars mark for a barrel of Brent crude.
EMGS (Electromagnetic Geoservices) has struck a data licensing agreement worth $7.1million for the provision of 3d EM date in the Barents Sea.
The data will be delivered this month which means the company will book the payment as a late sale in the fourth quarter of 2014.
SeaBird Exploration has received an LOA (Letter of Agreement) for one of its vessels in the South East Asia region worth up to $4million.
The deal will see the vessel chartered for around 35 days starting in early April next year.
Bank of England governor Mark Carney said the fall in the oil price was a “net positive development” for the UK.
Presenting the Bank’s financial stability report in London, he said: “We should be clear that the 40%-plus drop will flow quickly through to consumers and increase real disposable income and is a net positive for the UK economy.”
But Mr Carney warned that the fall in the oil price also presented some risks to financial stability.
Atlantic Petroleum said it has reduced its capital expenditure for exploration next year by 75% on the back of lower oil prices.
The company has budgeted up to DKK 30million for its near-term exploration activities.
It expects operating expenditures of around DKK 175million for the full year 2015.
Chief executive, Ben Arabo, said: “We are adapting to the market situation and are cutting costs in 2015 where we can.
Volatility for world markets continued today as the FTSE 100 Index put back a large chunk of the 2.5% rise seen in its previous session.
Oil prices steadied at 60 US dollars for a barrel of Brent crude but this was not enough to prevent another weak session in Europe as confidence was hit by the continued financial crisis in Russia.
The FTSE 100 Index stood 45 points lower at 6287.1, having rebounded by 2.5% or 149 points at the end of choppy trading yesterday.
The “big four” supermarkets are all cutting their fuel prices.
With world oil prices plunging, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Tesco are all reducing their petrol by 2p a litre and their diesel by 1p a litre from tomorrow.
The Asda cut means its customers will pay no more than 110.7p a litre for petrol, with the company’s diesel costing 117.7p a litre.
Well management firm Exceed has set its sights on international markets after reaching its target turnover of £15million this year.
The Aberdeen company is currently planning the first deepwater campaign in Myanmar, expected to commence in early 2015.
The firm has added 10 new staff in Aberdeen this year, adding to its workforce of 75 in Canada, Ghana, Kenya, Myanmar and Malaysia.
Norwegian investment firm HitecVision has consolidated five companies in its portfolio into one oil and gas services firm.
The firm’s Global Maritime Group, which has offices in Aberdeen, Glasgow and London, will now comprise Marine Contracting, Deep Sea Installation, Vryhof Anchor and Deep Sea Mooring.
The five companies specialise in offshore and maritime engineering, marine warranty, dynamic positioning, vessel inspection, mooring and anchors, as well as offloading, transportation and installation of offshore structures.
West Texas Intermediate oil rebounded after sliding below $55 for the first time in more than five years in New York trading.
WTI for January delivery gained 83 cents, or 1.5%, to $56.74 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Futures earlier touched $53.60, the lowest since May 2009.
A volatile session saw the FTSE 100 Index fluctuate between positive and negative territory today as the fall-out from falling oil prices continued.
Brent crude dipped below 60 US dollars a barrel for the first time since 2009, meaning the energy industry benchmark is now down by about 50% since the summer amid concerns about weakening demand and oversupply.
The slump has been worst felt in Russia, where a sudden hike in interest rates from 10.5% to 17% overnight failed to prevent a fresh decline in the value of the rouble, which stood at a new record low.
Crude oil prices are poised to fall below half where they were six months ago, before producers begin dealing with a global glut.
Brent, the global benchmark, will slide to as low as $50 a barrel in 2015, according to the median in a Bloomberg survey of 17 analysts, down from the $115.71 a barrel high for the year on June 19.
The grade has already collapsed 47% since then and needs to fall further before producers clear the current glut, said five out of six respondents who gave a reason.
Repsol has reached an agreement to buy Talisman Energy in a deal worth an estimated $8.3billion.
The move comes after a week of speculation the two companies were in talks once again.
Earlier this year Repsol had confirmed it was looking at a potential transaction with the Canadian energy firm.
A spokesman said the deal received the unanimous approval of both boards.
Crude prices came under renewed pressure yesterday, and Brent hit five-year lows of nearly $60 a barrel after producer group Opec said it would stick to its decision not to cut output despite fears of a world awash in oil.
Brent and US oil initially extended last week's rout, which wiped more than 10% off global crude prices. They were up in New York's Monday morning trade after news that Libya's two biggest oil ports had shut due to fighting between armed factions allied to the country's two rival governments.
Loading delays for January cargoes of North Sea Forties crude due to lower-than-expected output was also positive for oil. The North Sea Forties set prices for Brent.
A defiant session for oil stocks helped calm investor nerves in the wake of the worst week of trading for London’s FTSE 100 Index since August 2011.
There was some buying interest in a number of heavyweight oil companies as the price of Brent crude stabilised at around 63 US dollars a barrel.
More big losses for Asian markets had fuelled expectations for fresh falls in London but the FTSE 100 Index held firm at 19.3 points higher at 6320.1.
US oil firm Apache has sold off its interest in two LNG projects along with accompanying reserves to Woodside Petroleum in a $3.75billion deal.
The company is also expected to be reimbursed $1billion for its net expenditure on the two assets, Wheatstone and Kitimat.
The terms of the agreement means Apache will sell its equity ownership in its Australian subsidiary Apache Julimar.
Norwegian Energy Company ASA (Noreco) has put forward a restructuring proposal to stakeholders following a temporary suspension of its shares on the Oslo Stock Exchange.
The chief executive, Tommy Sundt, said its financial situation has continued to deteriorate on the back of falling oil prices and increasing costs.
Noreco has also announced production from the Huntington field will be delayed further.
Technip SA (TEC), Europe’s biggest oil-services company, said it plans to expand in upstream businesses even after a bid to buy French seismic surveyor CGG SA (CGG) failed on price and industrial considerations.
“We have turned a page on this subject,” Technip Chief Executive Officer Thierry Pilenko said.
The company said in a statement on Sunday evening that it doesn’t intend to make an offer for CGG.
CGG slumped 33% at 9:37 a.m. in Paris trading, while Technip climbed 8%.
A better session for energy stocks today helped the FTSE 100 Index steady after its worst week of trading since August 2011.
Investors found some value in a number of heavyweight oil companies as the price of Brent crude stabilised at around $63 a barrel.
The number of insolvencies of UK oil and gas services companies has trebled in the last year amid the huge fall in oil prices, according to a new report.
Accountancy firm Moore Stephens said 18 businesses have become insolvent this year, compared to just six in 2013 which it described as “significant” as insolvencies in the sector have been rare over the last five years.
The number of insolvencies this year represents more than three times the average number of insolvencies in the sector in the previous four years, said the report.
Oil fell $2 a barrel to plumb new five-year lows yesterday after the world's energy watchdog forecast even lower prices on weaker demand and higher supplies next year.
Benchmark Brent oil tumbled to below $62 a barrel and US crude slumped to under $58 to extend Thursday's landmark fall below $60.
