US inflation data pushes London down

Prices on the London stock exchange struggled today, following news that inflation in the US increased in June at an alarming rate.

The FTSE 100 index actually performed well this morning (August 4th), climbing to above 5,400 points.

However, news from the Commerce Department in the US that showed that consumer spending fell by 0.2 percent in June and that one measure of inflation jumped 0.8 per cent in the month pushed London''s blue chip index down.

It eventually closed at 5311.30 – down 43.40.

The news that private equity group CVC Capital was considering a bid for Punch Taverns pushed shares in the pub company up considerably.

Eventually, it closed up 14 per cent at 293.75. Other gains on the FTSE today including Yell, which recovered from significant losses last week to see its price climb nearly ten per cent to 80.50.

Commodities companies continued to struggle with International Ferro Metals and JKX Oil & Gas posting falls of 13 and ten per cent respectively.