Greek bailout talks delayed, as commodity sell-off deepens - as it happened

All the latest financial news, as Athens prepares to welcome the Troika back and mining giants cut thousands of jobs as prices slide again

• Talks may not start until Monday
• France gives Tsipras the thumbs-up
• Queues at the banks again
• Copper, gold, platinum keep sliding
• Mining firms slash thousands of jobs
• Eurozone growth hit by Greek worries

6.33pm BST

PS: Hot off the press, we take a look at that plan to raise a50bn in Greek asset sales....

Related: The great Greece fire sale

6.19pm BST

So, with the Greek bailout talks delayed until at least Monday, we may be done for the day. I'll pop back if anything important happens (but it seems unlikely right now....)

Have great weekends all. GW

5.58pm BST

All the main European stock markets lost ground today.

The French and German markets weakened after this morning's PMI surveys showed private sector growth slowing.

5.54pm BST

Mining stocks suffered another bad day in London, helping to wipe another 1.1% off the FTSE 100.

The steady fall in the prices of iron ore, platinum, zinc, copper, tin, gold (and pretty much every other commodity you can think of) had a predictable effect on the companies who dig the stuff up:

4.44pm BST

Greece has been given a big Fat French tick on its first report card since the July 12 European Summit where prime minister Alexis Tsipras made his spectacular u-turn and accepted lenders' demands.

Our correspondent Helena Smith reports

"The French president congratulated Alexis Tsipras for the faithful implementation of what was agreed in so far as prior actions are concerned in the written text of the summit meeting of euro zone member states

And both confirmed the importance to keep to the letter of the law of commitments contained in the aforementioned written text."

2.10pm BST

And as it's so quiet, you should certainly read and digest this piece by Dan Davies into whether the 2010 Greek bailout was a big mistake, or not.

1.56pm BST

After the excitement of recent weeks, today has been quite a letdown. Here's the state of play:

"They haven't arrived yet. There's been a delay. We don't know when talks will start but what we do know is that they will definitely start."

.@EU_Commission sources "can't confirm" arrival of Troika in #Greece. Finmin officials say delay is due to procedural issues. All "on track"

#Greece submits formal bailout request to #IMF, Citi reports citing Twitter sources.

Related: Anglo American and Lonmin cut jobs amid commodity slump

Duro, duro contra las materias primas #commodities pic.twitter.com/lAOLYTAMzn

1.36pm BST

Drafi was meant to be a new, green, development away from the bustle of Athens. But then the financial crisis struck....as photographer Panayis Chrysovergis shows here:

Related: Ruined utopia: Greece's graveyard town - in pictures

1.21pm BST

Sounds like Greece's letter to the IMF is now in the post....

#Greece gov't has sent official bailout request to the #IMF ~gov't official

1.15pm BST

AP has also confirmed that 'technical issues' are holding back the start of the negotiations:

Greece, lenders still at talking-about-talks stage @AP story http://t.co/kYHm6uaE4B #Greece HT @Menhad @rcasert

12.26pm BST

Political leaders lunch at presidential palace for the 41st anniversary of theRestoration of #Greek democracy #Greece pic.twitter.com/H5AZQ6l0Se

12.18pm BST

Have negotiations between Greece and creditor institutions been put on hold?

"They haven't arrived yet. There's been a delay. We don't know when talks will start but what we do know is that they will definitely start."

"That of course will be a big defeat for the government given that negotiations have moved to Brussels for the past six months but that is what they want, due diligence at a deeper level. Holding talks in a hotel is just not practical."

"I don't know if it is in the post, so to speak, but if it isn't already, it is going to be very, very soon."

12.11pm BST

Greece's political leaders will soon be tucking into their lunch to mark the end of the military junta in 1974.

Lunch at presidential palace getting served #Greece pic.twitter.com/klUeumfln7

12.09pm BST

The slump in the oil price today is having a knock-on effect on Russia.

The rouble has fallen 1.1% against the US dollar today, meaning it's lost around 17% of its value since mid-May:

#Russia in the spotlight again aus another #Ruble collapse in the making: Ruble plunges in tandem with lower oil. pic.twitter.com/hFh1VVqqfq

11.35am BST

Germans are divided over whether they support Greece's third bailout, according to a new poll. But few believe it will stave off bankruptcy:

Will the third bailout save #Greece from bankruptcy? 71% of Germans say NO, 22% say YES. (@ZDF Politbarometer) pic.twitter.com/Y6NUy2bR2F

11.28am BST

Time for some Friday fun. Check out the FT's quiz on the Greek crisis, and see if you can beat my 75%:

@SpiegelPeter @FT @hallbenjamin 83%. Not sure whether to be proud or ashamed.

10.59am BST

Negotiations between Greece and its creditors have hit a snag -- they need to find a location that is secure enough to host the talks.

That means that only technical talks are taking place, not top-level negotiations, seemingly for fear that angry Greeks might disrupt them.

"There are some logistical issues to solve, notably security-wise," a European Commission official said. "Several options are on the table," the Commission official said, without giving more details.

10.52am BST

More queues, this time outside the Deposits and Loans Fund (a credit institution) in Athens.

10.10am BST

Oil has just joined the commodities selloff -- with Brent crude hitting a three-month low :

#Brent falls below $55 a barrel for first time since April

9.45am BST

Back in Greece, party leaders should be getting spruced up for lunch with president Prokopis Pavlopoulos.

The meeting will mark the end of the Greek military dictatorship on this day in 1974, but recent developments will also be on the menu.

"Every other choice except that of remaining in the eurozone would clearly be disastrous for society, for the economy and for the nation."

Lunch is expected to serve also as an unofficial meeting of party leaders over latest political & economic developments.

9.24am BST

Growth across the eurozone's companies has slowed this month, suggesting Greece's bailout drama had some impact on confidence.

Markit's flash eurozone PMI composite output index, just released, fell to 53.7, from 54.2 in June.

By country, growth slowed in Germany, albeit merely to a two-month low, while a three-month low was seen in France. Elsewhere in the region, the rate of expansion accelerated, pushing the pace of growth further ahead of both France and Germany yet failing to match the peaks seen earlier in the year.

The survey data were collected between July 13- 23, after the July 5 Greek referendum and commencing on the day that Greece and its creditors subsequently struck an agreement on the country's third bailout, though there was little conclusive evidence from survey respondents as to the extent to which the events directly affected business activity either positively or negatively.

8.49am BST

Looks like a busy day for banks in Athens too, as pensioners collect their monthly payments:

@damomac @SKalyvas #calm queue at Alpha Bank in small town Kallithea, Kassandra pic.twitter.com/vz1AV42ood

8.45am BST

The euro is sliding against the US dollar, as the latest economic data from France and Germany misses expectations.

France's private sector output is growing at the slowest rate in three months, according to Markit's flash survey. And its factories are shrinking again, with manufacturing PMI dropping to 49.6 from 50.7 in June.

Down she goes! #euro slumps.German PMI misses too...following France. Still expansion but not as strong as expected pic.twitter.com/Np9aJ6RqXO

8.33am BST

The commodities rout is now the biggest issue in the capital markets, according to Chris Weston of IG:

The slump in the prices of platinum, gold, copper, zinc et al is now more serious than either Greece and the volatile Chinese stock market, he explains.

This seems to be premised on a toxic mix of increasing future surplus figures (in the forecasts), but Chinese growth and concern of a September move from the Federal Reserve are also in play.

I am personally sceptical as to whether we will start seeing downgrades to global growth forecasts of 3.5%. However, there are signs inflation expectations are starting to move lower.

8.27am BST

It's been a bleak weak for goldbugs too.

8.23am BST

Copper is also getting hammered again today. That's particularly concerning, as the metal is seen as a barometer of the health of the global economy

Copper trading @ 2009 low pic.twitter.com/elXQT9LK2z

8.22am BST

A quick glance at the platinum price explains why producers such as Lonmin are finding life so tough - it's not been this low since the global recession of 2008-09.

8.16am BST

Two mining giants are slashing thousands of jobs each, as the recent slide in commodity prices hits home.

Lonmin, the platinum producer, is to close or mothball several mines in South Africa, putting 6,000 jobs at risk.

"Lonmin is highly geared to platinum group metal prices. At current metal price levels, the company is EBITDA negative and our cost minimisation plans are designed to improve this position as much as possible."

"At the moment I am not sure we are at the bottom, I hope we are but you can never be sure.

8.05am BST

Worrying news from China overnight - activity across its factories fell at the fastest pace since April 2014.

The flash Caixin/Markit China Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) dropped to 48.2 in July. It's the 5th month running that activity has been below the 50-point mark that separates contraction from expansion.

TROUBLE: Activity in #China's factory sector contracted at fastest pace in 15 mths in Jul. http://t.co/bVoKOvsTJH pic.twitter.com/YNxrU0uf9d

8.01am BST

Greece's creditors are arriving back in a country that is hamstring by capital controls.

The Irish Times's Damian Mac Con Uladh reports seeing queues at banks in Corinth this morning, as people try to withdraw their maximum cash allowance for this week.

#CapitalControls in #Greece. Queues outside every bank in Corinth #now pic.twitter.com/UbVtwvIopG

@damomac Pensions paid today + last day of the week to withdraw up to a300. Otherwise a60 tomorrow.

#Greece. Pensions paid today. Lots of shoving, pushing and horsing the queue at National Bank, Corinth, as doors open pic.twitter.com/44IMoc8eLT

7.55am BST

Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the Greek debt crisis and other events across the world economy, the financial markets and business.

The return of the triumvirate, a day after internationally mandated reforms were pushed through the parliament by MPs, marks a personal defeat for the prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, who had pledged never to allow the auditors to step foot in Greece again.

How Greeks will react remains unclear, with much depending on media coverage.

Related: Greece braces for troika creditors' return to Athens

IMF spokesman Gerry Rice said on Thursday that Athens had not yet officially requested the Fund's participation in the third program. "The modalities and the process for the discussions are still to be decided."

Bloomberg Commodity Index hits a fresh 13y low on Metals rout as Chinese demand grew at the slowest pace in 2 decades pic.twitter.com/56BFJaIadG