The latest from London: Nervousness rises ahead of BoE meeting

Nervousness takes over the London stock exchange, ahead of a Bank of England meeting tomorrow that could end with an interest rate hike. The likelihood of such a move increased with the publication of new data showing consumer prices soared to their highest in a decade.

The Consumer Price Index rose by 5.1% in the 12 months to November, up from 4.2% in October, which was itself the steepest incline for a decade and more than double the central bank’s target. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a reading of 4.7% for November,

However, many believe that the Bank will refrain from rising rates on Thursday due to uncertainty around the fast spread of Omicron.

The FTSE 100 was down 0.2% this morning. Oil majors BP Plc and Royal Dutch Shell dipped by about 1% each, as crude prices fell.

Cineworld tumbled 37.7% after a Canadian court said it must pay C$1.23 billion to rival Cineplex as damages for cancelling a takeover deal.

 

Things to read today:

Washington hasn’t learned the real lessons of the China Shock (Bloomberg)

Saudi Oil Minister says Global Production Could Plunge 30% This Decade (Bloomberg)

This was the year investors and busines put big bets on climate (WSJ)