Oil tumbles back to $100; UK pay squeeze continues – as it happened

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news

• Brent crude drops below $100 a barrel
• Hopes of progress in ceasefire talks, and Iran nuclear deal
• Rising China Covid cases could mean more lockdowns, slow growth
• Ukraine war could push Germany into recession
• UK sets 35% tariffs on Russian imports such as vodka, steel and iron
• Luxury exports banned, export finance support scrapped
• Cost of living squeeze continues as regular real pay falls 1%
• Stocks slide in China as Covid cases rise

Brent crude has tumbled back to $101 per barrel, on concerns that China's recovery will be hit by the latest Covid outbreak.

That's its lowest level since the start of March, after it hit $139/barrel just over a week ago.

A hard-line approach to Covid is not new for the country, but the resurgence in cases has provided a stark reminder that the pandemic is still lingering. Investors might have become too complacent over the risks of lockdowns returning once again.

Disruption to the Chinese economy is not good news for commodity producers which have relied on the region to buy their metals and minerals for the past few decades. Heightened concerns explain why miners had a bad day on the market - and if they're falling, you can be almost certain that the resources-heavy FTSE 100 will be dragged down.