Closing post
Time to wrap up….
Activity across the UK’s private sector has accelerated this month, easing some pressure on chancellor Rachel Reeves ahead of the spring statement on Wednesday.
The latest UK PMI Composite Output Index shows private sector growth is running at a six-month high in March, helped by strong growth in the services sector.
But manufacturing contracted, as rising global economic uncertainty and fears of US tariffs hit demand for British goods.
Donald Trump has calmed investors’ nerves, by suggesting he could take a targeted approach to the new tariffs inked in for 2 April.
The Irish government has warned that the country could lose up to 80,000 jobs if Donald Trump launches a trade war with the EU, and has hit back at accusations by the US that Ireland is operating a “tax scam”.
In other news…
Sales of new Tesla cars slumped in Europe last month in the latest indication of a potential buyer backlash over Elon Musk’s high profile and controversial behaviour since becoming a leading figure in Donald Trump’s administration.
The UK’s transport secretary has said she would “struggle to sleep” if she had been running Heathrow airport, amid reports that its chief executive slept during the early hours of an unfolding crisis on Friday.
Hundreds of hospitality companies have called on the UK’s competition watchdog to investigate the energy market amid fears that small businesses may have been overcharged.
Oil up 1% after Trump's Venezuela tariffs
The oil price is up 1% this afternoon, as traders digest the new ‘secondary tariff’ on Venezuela’s energy exports announced by Donald Trump today.
Brent crude has risen to $72.83 per barrel, the highest since 3 March.
Traders will be calculating that Venezuela’s oil and gas customers may scramble to buy supplies from elsewhere, to avoid incurring a 25% tariff on their exports to the US.
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