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Good morning, and welcome to our live coverage of business, economics and financial markets around the world.
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Oil prices dropped back on Monday after diplomatic efforts over the weekend to try to prevent the conflict between Israel and Hamas from spreading, including aid convoys being allowed into Gaza.
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The price of a barrel of Brent crude oil, the North Sea benchmark, for December delivery fell as low as $91.08 on Monday morning, down by more than a dollar, or about 1%, following the weekend closure of markets. West Texas Intermediate, the North American grade also used as a global benchmark, fell by 1.2% as low as $86.83.
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Neither Israel nor Palestine are significant fossil fuel producers, but analysts are concerned that supplies from other countries could be affected if fighting spreads further through the region. Israel has been bombing Gaza in response to Hamas’s attack on civilians on 7 October, but it has so far not launched a promised ground invasion into the territory.
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Vandana Hari, founder of oil market analysis provider Vanda Insights, told Reuters:
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There is some relief in the oil market that Israel is holding off on a planned ground incursion of northern Gaza to negotiate a release of hostages, which opens up a window for diplomacy.
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A ground siege is seen as a potential trigger for widening the Israel-Hamas conflict into the Middle East region, the factor behind crude’s risk premium over the past fortnight.
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Elsewhere, one of the key manufacturers of Apple’s iPhone, Foxconn, has said it will cooperate with authorities following the revelation that it faces a tax investigation in China.
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Chinese state-controlled media reported the existence of the probe on Sunday, and Foxconn – officially called Hon Hai Technology Group – confirmed its existence. It said:
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Legal compliance everywhere we operate around the world is a fundamental principle of Hon Hai Technology Group (Foxconn). We will actively cooperate with the relevant units on the related work and operations.
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Any move to rein in Foxconn could have geopolitical ramifications, given its importance to Apple – the world’s biggest public company – and therefore for the US economy. Unnamed sources told Reuters they believed only Foxconn’s probe was made public for political reasons. Reuters reported:
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They highlighted the audit comes less than three months ahead of Taiwan’s presidential election and amid Foxconn’s diversification drive to move some production out of China.
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The agenda
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1:30pm BST: US Chicago Fed national activity index (September; previous: -0.16)
3pm BST: Eurozone consumer confidence flash reading (October; prev.: -17.8; consensus: -18.3)
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Key events
Shares in London-listed drug company Indivior have risen by 7% on Monday after it said it will pay a $385m settlement of lawsuits claiming it had illegally supressed competition for its addiction treatment Suboxone.
Indivior, a member of the FTSE 250 index of mid-sized companies, said it had agreed the payment with drug wholesalers allegedly affected by its actions. Indivior was alleged to have switched from a tablet to an oral film for the product to extend its monopoly over the valuable product used to treat opioid addiction.
Indivior chief executive Mark Crossley said:
We are pleased to achieve this settlement to conclude this legacy multi-district antitrust matter.
The resolution of this litigation, which was filed over a decade ago, provides greater certainty for all Indivior stakeholders and allows us to continue focusing on our important work for patients suffering from opioid use disorder and mental health illnesses around the world.
The FTSE 100 has dippedx in the first minutes of trading. It fell by 0.2%.
Commodity-linked stocks dragged back the index. As well as oil prices, gold, silver and copper prices also fell back on Monday morning.
The biggest downward mover was gold miner Fresnillo, which dropped 1.9%. Miners Glencore and Anglo American both dropped 1.2%.
Oil prices drop amid Gaza diplomacy; Apple supplier Foxconn faces tax probe
Good morning, and welcome to our live coverage of business, economics and financial markets around the world.
Oil prices dropped back on Monday after diplomatic efforts over the weekend to try to prevent the conflict between Israel and Hamas from spreading, including aid convoys being allowed into Gaza.
The price of a barrel of Brent crude oil, the North Sea benchmark, for December delivery fell as low as $91.08 on Monday morning, down by more than a dollar, or about 1%, following the weekend closure of markets. West Texas Intermediate, the North American grade also used as a global benchmark, fell by 1.2% as low as $86.83.
Neither Israel nor Palestine are significant fossil fuel producers, but analysts are concerned that supplies from other countries could be affected if fighting spreads further through the region. Israel has been bombing Gaza in response to Hamas’s attack on civilians on 7 October, but it has so far not launched a promised ground invasion into the territory.
Vandana Hari, founder of oil market analysis provider Vanda Insights, told Reuters:
There is some relief in the oil market that Israel is holding off on a planned ground incursion of northern Gaza to negotiate a release of hostages, which opens up a window for diplomacy.
A ground siege is seen as a potential trigger for widening the Israel-Hamas conflict into the Middle East region, the factor behind crude’s risk premium over the past fortnight.
Elsewhere, one of the key manufacturers of Apple’s iPhone, Foxconn, has said it will cooperate with authorities following the revelation that it faces a tax investigation in China.
Chinese state-controlled media reported the existence of the probe on Sunday, and Foxconn – officially called Hon Hai Technology Group – confirmed its existence. It said:
Legal compliance everywhere we operate around the world is a fundamental principle of Hon Hai Technology Group (Foxconn). We will actively cooperate with the relevant units on the related work and operations.
Any move to rein in Foxconn could have geopolitical ramifications, given its importance to Apple – the world’s biggest public company – and therefore for the US economy. Unnamed sources told Reuters they believed only Foxconn’s probe was made public for political reasons. Reuters reported:
They highlighted the audit comes less than three months ahead of Taiwan’s presidential election and amid Foxconn’s diversification drive to move some production out of China.
