The price of Brent crude has continued to recover today after the oil price rout of earlier this week.
As of the London market close, Brent was up by more than 9.2% at $22.35 a barrel.
The global benchmark slumped to a 21-year low on Tuesday following an historic collapse in the value of the US standard, West Texas Intermediate, as sellers paid up to $40 per barrel to get rid of it.
Meanwhile, London’s blue-chip FTSE 100 Index rose for a second consecutive session today – by 55.98 points, or nearly 1%, to 5,826.61 – despite a raft of dire reports about the harm being done to the UK economy by Covid-19.
Business activity has dived at the fastest pace on record due to widespread shutdowns caused by the pandemic.
The closely watched IHS Markit/Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply Flash UK composite purchasing managers’ index plunged to a reading of 12.9 for April, from 36 last month.
Manufacturing and services activity sank at a rate which exceeded the downturn seen at the height of the global financial crisis “by a wide margin”, the index report said.
A survey of 330 firms by the CBI revealed the quickest fall in new orders since 2009.