Eurozone consumer confidence slumps; oil remains volatile - as it happened

Time for a recap.

Global markets have recovered today, led by a rebound in the oil price from its historic slump earlier this week.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, is now up 7% or $1.4 per barrel at $20.74 -- up from a 21-year low just below $16 per barrel this morning.

US crude has jumped too, back to $14.55 per barrel - a gain of 25% today.

Although those percentage moves may sound impressive, the reality is that oil still remains low by historic terms -- after a US barrel for delivery in May plunged below zero dollars on Monday.

The recovery came amid speculation that producers will cut output soon, as they are running out of places to store oil. It also followed a threat from president Donald Trump to attack Iranian boats if they interfered with US ships.

European markets have also closed higher, while on Wall Street the Dow is up 1.9% or 438 points at 23,456.

But, there are also new signs that the Covid-19 pandemic is driving the world economy down.

Consumer confidence across the eurozone has dropped at its fastest rate ever, to its lowest point since the financial crisis.

In the UK, inflation dropped last month as people shunned new clothes and bought less fuel.

The British government is being urged to tax wealth on the same basis as income, to help cover the cost of the Covid-19 lockdown.

Thousands of UK firms are threatening legal action after their insurance claims for business interruption losses were turned down:

Good night. GW

After a better day for stocks, the main European indices have all closed higher tonight.

Every sector of the Stoxx 600 index gained ground. Energy and Technology stocks led the rally, followed by basic materials producers, telecoms operators, utilities and banks.

• FTSE 100: up 129 points or 2.3% at 2,770
• German DAX: up 164 points or 1.6% at 10,415
• French CAC: up 54 points or 1.25% at 4,411

But while the Stoxx 600 gained 1.7% today, it’s still down over 20% this year.

Donald Trump’s threat to “shoot down” Iranian gunboats if they harass US ships drove the oil price’s recovery today, says Connor Campbell of SpreadEx.

It would be nice for oil’s push higher to come from a less troublesome catalyst.

Donald Trump’s order for the navy to ‘shoot and destroy’ Iranian gunboats that ‘harass’ American ships cause some investors to return to the black stuff, lifting Brent Crude back towards $21 per barrel with a near 8% comeback. This after it had at one point fallen under $16 per barrel overnight.

Stocks are turning higher in late trading in London... pushing the FTSE 100 up by 132 points or 2.3% today.

Oil giants are leading the way, with BP and Royal Dutch Shell both up over 6% - following the rally in crude prices.

Deutsche Bank have dug back through 150 years of data, and concluded that the oil price had never turned negative - before Monday’s remarkable tumble in US crude prices.

Jim Reid and Nick Burns write:

In nominal terms, it’s not a surprise to see that, over the 150 years for which we have data, there’s never been a negative price print before. This is stunning as it basically says that a barrel of oil earlier this week was effectively cheaper than it was in 1870.

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America’s stockpiles of gasoline have hit a fresh record high, as the Covid-19 lockdown hammers demand.

New figures from the US Energy Information Administration also show that stockpiles of crude rose by 15 million barrels in the week to April 17, following a 19.2m jump the previous week.

Consumer confidence across the eurozone has absolutely plummeted this month, amid the Covid-19 lockdown and rising deaths across the region.

The European Commission’s gauge of morale, released this afternoon, slumped to -22.7 for April - down from -11.6 in March.

That’s its worst reading since early 2009, when the financial crisis and global recession sent confidence to down to record lows. This means Europeans are much more nervous than at any time during the euro debt crisis.

It also appears to be the largest decline on record - reflecting the speed and severity of the coronavirus outbreak.

Here’s some snap reaction:

Markets are pushing higher in Europe now, as traders welcome the recovery in oil prices this afternoon.

In London the FTSE 100 is now up by 108 points, or almost 2% - back to 5748 points (recovering a healthy chunk of yesterday’s falls).

European markets are higher too, with the French CAC and German DAX both almost 1% higher. But having lost 3% yesterday, the broader picture is of choppy, volatile trading as investors weigh up the latest Covid-19 developments.

In the oil market, Brent crude is now UP 10%, or $2 per barrel, at $21.45 - having hit a 21-year low of $15.98 this morning.

US crude is up over $3 per barrel, or 28% (!), at $14.85, following these latest hints from the White House that the lockdowns will be eased soon (although this will be on a state-by-state basis).

Those upbeat comments from Steve Mnuchin may help stocks recover in New York.

The Dow Jones industrial average has jumped by 406 points, or 1.7%, at the start of trading - back to 23,424 points.

US Treasury secretary Stephen Mnuchin has now weighed in.

Speaking on Fox, Mnuchin predicted that oil would recover to $30 per barrel by August, and that “most if not all” of the US economy would be open by the summer.

The White House is also talking up the prospects of the US economy re-opening in next couple of months, despite concerns the this could trigger a second wave of infections:

Oil prices are moving higher across the board - with US crude oil for June delivery up 13% at over $13 per barrel.

I’m not quite clear what’s driving the rally, but it may be partly related to this tweet.....

After two days of losses, the New York stock exchange is expected to rebound today.

The Dow Jones industrial average is up over 1% in pre-market trading, or 280 points - having lost around 1,000 points in the last two days.

But, there’s a lot of anxiety beyond Wall Street. A Gallup poll released last night shows that 25% of employed Americans think they’re likely to be laid off in the next 12 months. That’s on top of the 22 million people who have filed jobless benefit claims in the last four weeks.