$100 Oil Threatens Wider Pain for FTSE 100

London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.6% to 10,816.59 by late morning on Tuesday, with the FTSE 250 down 0.24%, after Brent crude climbed toward $100 a barrel following fresh attacks on Saudi energy facilities.

BP rose about 1.5% and Shell added roughly 0.7% as Brent approached the $100 mark. Mining stocks provided further support: Antofagasta gained 3.6% and Glencore rose about 1.2% after copper reached a record above $14,600 a tonne on the London Metal Exchange.

Banks slid about 0.8%, personal goods fell roughly 1.5% and retailers dropped close to 0.9% as investors weighed the prospect of higher energy costs feeding into inflation and consumer spending. Dunelm tumbled more than 12% after the homewares retailer said unusually hot weather had weakened early-year trading. The company reported flat pretax profit of £211 million for fiscal 2026 and set out a three-year plan targeting £100 million of cost reductions alongside faster store expansion. Analysts at Deutsche Bank had upgraded Dunelm to Buy days earlier.

Industry data showed total retail sales growth slowed to 0.7% in August from 1.3% in July, while non-food sales fell 0.8%.

Markets expect the Bank of England to leave rates unchanged at its September 17 meeting. UK GDP data for July, due on Friday, will provide another reading on domestic activity. US producer and consumer price data later this week will also influence global rate expectations.

Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club, warned: “Renewed conflict is keeping concerns over energy costs, inflation, debt and the resulting drag on growth firmly in focus.”

Copper has risen about 17% this year amid mine disruptions, tariff worries and stronger demand from power grids, data centres and electric vehicle projects. Those gains have supported the FTSE 100 because miners and oil companies are large components of the index.

Trading showed pockets of strength in energy and mining while domestically focused sectors declined, leaving market movements linked to commodity prices and upcoming economic data.