RAMSEY CROOKALL & CO

20  APRIL  2011 Afternoon Report

The FTSE 100 is trading up 2 %, moving back above the key 6000 mark aided by strong earnings from the U.S. and U.K. The rate of inflation in the U.K. could soon rise above 5% but the Bank of England policy makers remain concerned that higher borrowing costs could harm the U.K.'s economic recovery, the minutes of the bank's April policy meeting showed today.

Intel’s peer ARM Holdings is leading the FTSE 100 higher, but it is the mining sector that is driving most of the gains as metals prices advance. Antofagasta leads the large-cap miners higher.

Mining leviathan BHP Billiton enjoyed record iron ore production and sales in the first nine months of its financial year. Year to date production records were also achieved for crude oil and condensate, the North West Shelf (Australia) and manganese ore.

Elsewhere in mining, the copper division of mining giant Xstrata is expanding its copper production capacity in Queensland, Australia with the purchase of assets from Exco Resources for A$175m (£113m).

THE FTSE 100 AT  12:10 IS                  Up 127 @ 6024  

THE DOW JONES CLOSED Up 65 @    12266

THE NASDAQ COMP CLOSED Up 9 @     2744

Exchange Rates

GBP – USD           1.6370 GBP - EURO         1.1270