Oil and mining stock hikes give FTSE a boost
The London stock market rose strongly, driven by mining and oil stocks which clawed back much of yesterday’s heavy losses.
oil stock
Cheaper oil helps narrow trade gap
Britain’s trade deficit fell to a 17-month low in November - helped by cheaper oil - while the manufacturing sector grew at its strongest pace in seven months, official figures showed today. The shortfall between exports and imports narrowed to £1.4 billion from £2.2 billion the previous month, the smallest since June 2013. Manufacturing grew by 0.7%, reversing a contraction of the same size the previous month. It equalled the pace of growth in April and has not been better since last February.