Oil prices slid sharply as tensions between the US and Iran eased, with Brent crude falling 7.1% to below $90 a barrel, while AstraZeneca beat profit forecasts helped by its cancer treatments.
Key facts
- Brent crude fell 7.1% to $89.94 a barrel amid a pause in fire between the US and Iran.
- Oil rose above $100 last week during US strikes against Iran.
- AstraZeneca beat profit forecasts, helped by cancer treatments.
- The UK's FCA launched a £2m advertising campaign over the car finance scandal.
Oil prices fell sharply on 27 July as investors responded to a pause in hostilities between the United States and Iran, according to the Guardian’s rolling business coverage. Brent crude, the international benchmark, dropped 7.1% to $89.94 a barrel, dipping below the $90 mark.
The decline followed a period of heightened tension in the region. Brent crude had risen above $100 the previous week, when the US carried out several consecutive nights of strikes against Iran and the Yemeni Houthi movement threatened to carry out a naval blockade of Saudi Arabian ports.
The easing of the standoff appeared to reassure investors who had priced in the risk of further disruption to oil supplies, prompting the pullback in prices reported by the Guardian.
In corporate news, pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca beat profit forecasts, with its performance helped by cancer treatments, according to the Guardian’s coverage of the day’s business and financial news.
Elsewhere, the UK’s financial watchdog turned its attention to the car finance scandal. The Financial Conduct Authority launched a £2m advertising campaign aimed at curbing the use of claims management companies (CMCs) and encouraging affected drivers to file their own complaints.
The FCA’s 30-second video advert features pedestrians jumping over car bonnets in slow-motion, action film style, with text flashing across the screen to encourage viewers to “Feel Claim Confident.” The regulator said many people who may be owed compensation are unsure where to start or do not realise they do not have to pay someone to make a complaint, adding that its free tools are there to help people get any money owed back “without it costing them a penny.”
Why it matters
Oil prices influence the cost of fuel, transport and goods for households and businesses worldwide, so a sharp move tied to geopolitical events can ripple through the wider economy. The FCA's campaign, meanwhile, aims to ensure consumers affected by the car finance scandal can claim compensation without paying middlemen.