Caroline Hepker

As oil prices slump, volatilities also slumped in oil markets.

Brent crude futures at $77.78 are down by 2.2% this morning.

Stock futures for the US, for the Nasdaq, are up by 1.4%, even though you actually saw the Nasdaq

and the S&P 500 yesterday shed more than 1%.

Part of that, I guess, the hawkish comments and the opening statement, the maiden statement of Kevin Walsh's Fed chair.

So those are the markets now.

And I'm Caroline Hipker.

G7 nations have pledged to diversify away from China with ambitious trade targets on critical minerals.

They agreed that no single country should supply more than 60% of their imports of rare earths, this by 2030.

Now, it adds momentum to the European Union's push to counter a deficit of more than a billion euros per day.

Now, when it comes to the UK, breaking news this morning, the February to April wage data, so excluding bonuses, increases by 3.4% year on year.

So that's a hotter print than had been expected.

The estimate was for a rise of 3.2%.

The unemployment rate in the UK at 4.9%.

The survey median had been for 5%.

And this, as we see in, again, that period of February to April, employment rising by 100,000.

The estimate had only been for 73,000.

So this will all be additional data then, as we expect the Bank of England's rate decision at 12pm today.

Now, UK voters in the constituency of Makerfield go to the polls later today.

The race is actually one of three parliamentary special elections taking place in the UK.