Afternoon summary
Over in parliament, Jeremy Hunt is due to update MPs on the Mortgage Charter agreed with lenders on Friday.
Our Politics Liveblog should have all the action, as it happens from 3.30pm.
So, time for a quick recap….
The squeeze on UK mortgage-holders has tightened, with the average cost of two and five-year fixed mortages hitting the highest since last November today.
Financial data provider Moneyfacts reports that the average 2-year fixed residential mortgage rate has risen to 6.23%, up from 6.19% on Friday, while 5-year fixeds now cost 5.86%, up from 5.83% on Friday.
The financial markets predict UK interest rates will have risen to at least 6% by early next year….
… although City economists forecast a peak of 5.5%, according to a new poll.
Savings rates have also risen today, Moneyfacts reports.
Rising prices have helped Primark’s owner, Associated British Foods, to lift its profit guidance for this year.
Cruise operator Carnival has recorded a record quarter for bookings, as demand for sailings picks up and prices rise…
Pakistan’s central bank has raised its interest rates from 21% to 22% at an emergency meeting.
The UK’s post-Brexit border strategy risks further pushing up food prices, according representatives of Britain’s fresh produce industry.
Shares in defence companies dipped this morning, as the abortive mutiny by fighters of the powerful Wagner Group raised doubts over president Vladimir Putin’s position. Gas prices rose, but have now dipped back.
And Wall Street is remarkably calm today.
There was a quasi coup in Russia over the weekend and the market is completely dead on Monday. Wild.
— Michael Antonelli (@BullandBaird) June 26, 2023
Maybe if Prigozhin said something about interest rates the market would've perked up.
— Jason Brooks (@brookskcbsradio) June 26, 2023
In other news….
Updated
In New York, the stock market has opened a little higher as investors ponder the implications of last weekend’s abortive mutiny in Russia.
The Dow Jones industrial average has gained 40 points or 0.12% to 33,767, while the technology-focused Nasdaq Composite is 0.4% higher.
Marios Hadjikyriacos, senior investment analyst at XM, explains:
It seems that market participants are ignoring the mounting signs of political instability in Russia, as the worst-case scenario of a full-blown civil war has been avoided.
Yet, geopolitical risks are back on the radar, which poses a risk for currencies such as the euro that are geographically exposed to Russian developments.
Updated
