UK shares fell on Wednesday, after data showing a surprise fall in British consumer prices in August did little to ease bets of the Bank of England hiking interest rates by 75 basis points at its meeting next week.
A selloff in Wall Street overnight after a rise in US inflation figures prompted bets for aggressive policy tightening in the world’s largest economy also weighed on the London market.
The commodity-heavy FTSE 100 slid 0.7%, while the domestically focussed mid-cap index declined 0.3% at 07:13 GMT.
Oil and mining stocks shed 1.7% and 1.0%, respectively, on fears of aggressive hikes by the Federal Reserve that could slow down the global economy and dampen commodity demand.
Lower fuel prices caused an unexpected fall in British consumer price inflation last month, official figures showed, offering some relief to households after the CPI rate hit a 40-year high.
Banks, miners drive FTSE 100 to two-week highs
However, traders continued to see an 84% chance of a 75 basis point hike in interest rate to 2.5% by the Bank of England on Sept. 22, which would be its biggest rate rise since 1989, excluding a brief attempt to bolster sterling during a 1992 exchange rate crisis.
Redrow Plc gained 0.8% as the housebuilder reported a 31% rise in annual profit. Croda International rose 2.1% on a ratings upgrade from Jefferies.
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