Oil stocks have helped London’s top flight index rise to a four-week high as the oil price rose to $35 dollars a barrel.
The oil price was up 27 cents to 35.4 US dollars a barrel amid reports that major oil producers could start fresh talks about cutting supply.
Royal Dutch Shell was up 41.5p to 1624.5p, while BP climbed 7.9p to 346.5p.
This provided a boost, despite a dismal financial performance from the Royal Bank of Scotland.
RBS shares plunged 8% or 19.9p to 223.9p, as it racked up its eighth year in a row of annual losses and delayed its sell-off of the bank Williams & Glyn.
The FTSE 100 Index was up 71.2 points to 6084.24 points, as a rise in the price of Brent crude bolstered oil stocks.
Sterling built on gains from recent sessions, rising a cent to 1.40 against the US dollar.
The pound had plummeted to a seven-year low at the start of the week against the dollar amid fears Britain could leave the European Union.
The pound was also up a cent against the euro at 1.27.