Sector movers: Energy stocks jump on oil-price rebound

The oil and gas producing sector was near the top of the risers list on Friday as a strong rebound in crude prices went some way to repairing fragile sentiment in the energy industry.

Brent crude, which fell to its lowest since May 2009 on Thursday, bounced back after Saudi Arabia’s oil minister said that the recent collapse in prices is only likely to be temporary.

Ali al-Naimi, from OPEC’s largest producing nation, said that steady economic growth should lead to increased demand, adding that he was “optimistic about the future”.

He also said it was “difficult, not impossible” for OPEC to take action that would reduce its market share.

Brent futures for January delivery were up 2.7% at $60.85 a barrel after settling at $59.27 a barrel the day before.

Tullow Oil, Shell, BG Group and BP were among the best performers on the FTSE 100 in afternoon trade.

Second-tier peers Afren, Nostrum Oil & Gas and Soco International also surged.

In the face of the recent plunge in prices, unions have urged the UK government to help as struggling oil companies have already begun to delay projects, scale back spend and cut jobs.

Unions such as RMT have called on the government to lower the level of tax in the North Sea oil industry to ease the strain on company finances.

Top performing sectors so far today
Food & Drug Retailers 2,733.14 +3.56%
Oil & Gas Producers 7,152.75 +2.41%
Mining 13,894.03 +1.67%
Forestry & Paper 11,299.15 +1.65%
Industrial Engineering 8,800.88 +1.33%

Bottom performing sectors so far today
Electricity 9,753.30 -1.57%
Chemicals 11,083.02 -1.30%
Construction & Materials 4,007.60 -1.08%
Personal Goods 24,362.18 -0.96%
Beverages 13,957.77 -0.93%