The FTSE 100 has closed up 66 points to 7,699, hitting a 3-year high as it edges closer towards the all-time high of 7,900.
Gas prices fell 20% in the final week of December, according to new data released by the Office for National Statistics this morning, amid unusually mild temperatures at the start of the new year.
Meanwhile, mortgage lender Halifax today revealed the average UK house price dropped 1.5% in December.
The decline, which follows a 2.4% fall in November, means the annual growth in prices now stands at 2% compared with 4.6% the previous month.
