FTSE 100 Live: Stocks set to stay steady; oil prices fall as fears of Saudi disruption ease

Welcome to our live blog of the FTSE 100. For the third day in a row, oil prices have been dropping as worries lessen about interruptions to oil supplies from Saudi Arabia. The price of Brent crude fell below 1% to $103.34 overnight, putting it on course for its first weekly decline in three weeks. The market has largely ignored fears that attacks from Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis on Saudi Arabia will disrupt oil supply from the world's second largest producer.

The two sides have exchanged fresh strikes across their border on Thursday. Following an assault on Saudi oil facilities earlier in the week, prices rose to near four-month highs as Riyadh had to suspend some deliveries to Europe after its East-West pipeline was damaged in an attack last week. Higher oil prices have sparked worries about inflation worldwide, prompting the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates to a 31-year high on Friday.

The move, while expected, did not help the yen, which fell as investors focused on two dissenting voices on the rate-setting committee who urged caution in further rate hikes. The Bank of England held interest rates at yesterday's meeting and paused its bond selling programme, causing UK government borrowing costs to fall after a recent spike.

We will continue to provide you with the latest market updates and analysis. Today's top stories include HSBC losing £17m in the Brewdog collapse, borrowing costs dropping after the Bank of England's unexpected bond sale change, and a month-old Deepmind spinout nearing $4bn on a 'future capability' bet. This live blog has concluded. No updates are available at this moment.