crude oil

Oil prices fell by more than $3 a barrel yesterday as Libyan rebels gained more ground, lifting hopes that the source of Africa's biggest oil reserves could soon restart exports.

The FTSE 100 climbed this morning and Asian and US markets rallied strongly overnight as the Federal Reserve announced it would hold interest rates at close to zero until 2013.

President Barack Obama has announced a deal to end the US debt crisis, which will raise the nation's debt ceiling by at least $2.1trn and cut the federal deficit by as much as $2.5trn over a decade.

Figures released by Deutsche Bank and ETF Securities confirm European investors largely stuck with ETCs last week despite a fall in commodity prices.

Commodity prices have started to recover after markets were hit by one of the biggest sell-offs in two years.

Deutsche Bank's db x-ETC platform has unveiled sterling hedged versions of its oil, agriculture, physical gold and physical silver ETCs on the London Stock Exchange.

Oil prices have jumped to a two-and-a-half-year high on fresh fears about supply and a weaker dollar.

Coal investments look set to appreciate as concerns over the safety of nuclear power resurface, according to commodity ETP specialists ETF Securities.

The G7 nations are intervening in currency markets for the first time since 2000, on fears a crippled Japanese economy and political upheaval in the Middle East could combine to derail the global recovery.

World markets have responded positively to Brent crude futures falling by more than $3 after the Arab League said it was considering stepping in to end the crisis in Libya.