FTSE 100 Live: Stocks to inch up as US-Iran peace deal ‘very close’

Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog.

After investors kicked into sell-off mode on Thursday amidst spiking tensions as the US and Iran exchanged strikes, attention is quickly turning back to hopes of a peace deal this morning.

US and Iranian negotiators are reported to have reached an agreement on a 60-day memorandum of understanding that will extend the currently in-place ceasefire and kick off negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme, according to Axios.

The report cites most of the deal being agreed on Tuesday with Iran’s leader signing off but President Donald Trump having yet to. Such a deal would bring much-needed reprieve to the oil market, where prices edged closer to $100 per barrel on Thursday stoking inflation fears once more.

In the meantime, Trump has doubled down on threats to attack Iran again if no peace deal can be reached.

“A deal that wasn’t going to be good for us is the line ultimately,” the President told Fox News when asked what it would take to resume military action.

“We’re playing it out, we’re going to see,” Trump added.

Last night Vice President JD Vance hinted a deal was “very close” but added the US was “not there yet”.

Trump is understood to have circulated the draft peace agreement among allies including Israel.

In an attempt to speed up the negotiations, Pakistan’s foreign minister, Mohammad Ishaq Dar, will fly to Washington today to meet his US counterpart, Marco Rubio.

We’ll be bringing you all the market reaction to this and more.

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