Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. New unemployment figures this morning have showed an unexpected twist where the joblessness rate slipped under the five per cent mark. But this was accompanied by a blow to the market with the number of vacancies fell by an estimate of 29,000 in the three months to March.
It is the lowest level of job postings available since May 2021, with around 711,000 vacancies being available. Elsewhere, markets are gearing up to slip once more as the end of the temporary ceasefire in the Middle East draws nearer. The temporary suspension of hostilities is set to end on Wednesday – two weeks after Donald Trump announced a pause in strikes.
Trump was gearing up to “obliterate” Iranian power plants weeks back and has since returned to those threats following frustrations with the progress of peace talks. The first round of talks, where Vice-President JD Vance led a delegation is Islamabad in Pakistan, came up short after 21 hours of discussion. Vance said the US “could not get to a situation where the Iranians were willing to accept our terms”.
But Iran’s foreign ministry countered that Washington needed to refrain from “excessive demands and unlawful requests”. Oil prices have remained elevated as a final agreement continued to be out of grip leading to more heightened fears of economic turmoil. But Trump has pushed back, stating a deal with happen “relatively quickly” and denied any “pressure” to make a deal.
“THIS IS NOT TRUE!” the President posted on Truth Social. We’ll be bringing you the latest on this and more. Here’s a few of our top headlines this morning: Job vacancies fall to lowest level in five years Airfares, petrol pumps, rent: Inflation to jump due to Iran war Associate British Foods to spin off Primark The liveblog has ended.No liveblog updates yet. Load more