FTSE 100 Falls Tuesday as Brent Crude Tops $107 and UK Jobs Data Misses Forecasts

TLDR

• The FTSE 100 fell 0.60% on Tuesday as oil prices surged and AI safety concerns weighed on sentiment
• UK payrolled employment dropped 26,000 in August, following a revised 19,000 fall in July
• Unemployment held at 4.9% for a fourth straight month, below the 5% forecast
• Brent crude rose to $107.42 a barrel after a Saudi pipeline outage disrupted supply
• The Bank of England is expected to hold interest rates at 3.75% following the weak jobs data

British stocks fell on Tuesday as rising oil prices and a debate over AI development added pressure to already fragile market sentiment.

The FTSE 100 dropped 0.60%, while Germany’s DAX fell 0.36% and France’s CAC 40 was down 0.64%. Sterling slipped 0.21% to $1.3472 against the dollar.

The market weakness came as Brent crude climbed 1.67% to $107.42 a barrel. The jump was driven by a Saudi East-West pipeline outage that analysts at ING said could keep prices “well supported” for several weeks.

WTI crude also rose 1.7% to $103.09. Vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz fell to just four on Monday from ten, according to data from Kpler cited by Reuters.

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