2026.03.0917:07:37UTC+00FTSE 100 Falls to 5-Week Low

The FTSE 100 closed 0.2% lower on Monday, hitting a five-week low but recovering substantially from an intraday loss of more than 1.5%, as investors weighed developments in oil prices, inflation, and interest rate expectations. WTI crude futures retreated to below $100 per barrel after briefly touching $120. At the same time, expectations for a Bank of England rate increase eased following a less severe-than-feared selloff in US markets, with traders now assigning almost no probability to a hike this year. Even so, crude prices near $100 continue to underpin elevated inflationary pressures despite recent market volatility. Among individual movers, oil majors Shell and BP advanced 2.4% and 2%, respectively, while defense contractors Babcock International and BAE Systems each climbed 2.3%. In contrast, miners Rio Tinto, Anglo American, and Antofagasta lost between 1.3% and 3%, Rolls-Royce fell more than 2%, and banks Barclays and Standard Chartered slipped 1.6% and 1%.