Well that's all from us today, thanks for following along. Be sure to join us again on Monday when we'll bring all the latest markets news and all that's happening across the global economy.

Until then, have a great weekend all!

The cost of a first-class stamp will rise by 5p to £1.70 on 7 April, with the price of a second-class stamp by 2p to 87p.

According to Royal Mail, the decision was carefully considered, "balancing affordability with the increasing cost of delivering mail".

Citizens Advice said the move was "yet another blow to consumers".

It comes as the number of letters Royal Mail delivers has fallen from a peak of 20 billion in 2004-05 to 6.6 billion last year, despite stamp prices rising.

"We always consider price changes very carefully but the cost of delivering mail continues to increase," said Nick Landon, chief commercial officer at Royal Mail.

"A complex and extensive network of trucks, planes and 85,000 posties is needed to ensure we can deliver across the country for just 87p

Earnings season is winding down but there are still a number of major companies due to report in the coming week.

Chip stocks remain firmly in the market spotlight, with TSMC (2330.TW, TSM) due to release its February sales figures on Monday.

Larry Ellison's cloud software company Oracle (ORCL) will also be reporting on Monday, with investors keeping an eye out for commentary on its role in the US Stargate AI infrastructure project.

In the autos sector, Volkswagen (VOW3.DE) is due to release full-year results, on the back of a rollercoaster week of trade tariff news for carmakers.

Meanwhile, investors will be hoping that end of the year trading gave a boost to Zara-owner Inditex (ITX.MC), after having disappointed against estimates in the third quarter.

In the UK, markets will be focused on the year-ahead outlook from housebuilder Persimmon (PSN.L) when it reports on Tuesday.

Here's more on what to look out for

The Guardian has a useful breakdown of some of the sectors of the US economy that added jobs in February.

• Health care added 52,000 jobs in February

• Employment in financial activities rose by 21,000, although commercial banking lost 5,000 jobs.

• Transportation and warehousing employment rose by 18,000.

• Employment in social assistance rose by 11,000

• Warehouse clubs, supercentres, and other general merchandise retailers added 10,000 jobs.

But there were losses in other sectors too:

• Within government, federal government employment declined by 10,000 in February.

• Employment in retail trade fell by 6,0000

• Employment in food and beverage retailers declined by 15,000, “largely due to strike activity”.

There hasn't been much in terms of corporate news in London today but here's a brief update on some of the movers.

• Just Group (JUST.L) tumbled as it posted full-year pre-tax profit that missed consensus expectations and struck a cautious note on the outlook.

• Premier Inn owner Whitbread (WTB.L) lost ground after JPMorgan Cazenove downgraded the shares to 'neutral' from 'overweight' "on the back of a fragile UK consumer from lower income demographics".

• On the upside, Fresnillo (FRES.L) shone as Berenberg upgraded shares of the precious metals miner to 'buy' from 'hold' and hiked the price target 1,020p form 840p following full-year results earlier in the week.The bank said the results showcased improving financials, underpinned by robust precious metals prices, operational stability, as well as better cost control that in its view underpins better visibility on shareholder returns.

The jobs data also revealed that the US unemployment rate rose to 4.1%, up from 4% in January.

This takes the jobless rate back up to its level in December.

Stocks on Wall Street edged higher in premarket trading in New York with the S&P 500 (^GSPC) and Nasdaq 100 (^NDX) up around 0.5% despite the unemployment rate in the US edging up from 4% to 4.1% last month.

The US jobs market continues to trudge onwards despite gloomier headlines on the economy increasing.

Hiring across the American economy picked up slightly at the start of Donald Trump’s second term in office, adding 151,000 new jobs in February, the latest non-farm payroll report shows.

This was slightly below the 160,000 expected by economists but was a pick-up compared to January, as a result of unseasonably warm weather, and companies on the West Coast bounced back following the wildfires in LA.

Payroll growth that month was been revised down to 125,000, from 143,000.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics said:

Richard Carter, head of fixed interest research at Quilter Cheviot, said:

Moving house can be so expensive that it’s wise to consider you and your family’s long term as well as current needs when looking for your next home.

For example, think about whether an elderly relative might come to live with you at some point, a property’s suitability for someone with mobility issues and if an adaptable layout or a ground floor bedroom — or space for one — would be practical.

All these homes for sale are future-proofed, so you won’t be forced to uproot yourself later on when you’d rather stay put.

Read more here

Global food commodity prices rose in February thanks to increasing prices for sugar, dairy and vegetable oil.

The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said prices rose 1.6% in the month.

It's FAO Food Price Index, which tracks a basket of food commodities, showed that while the meat price index remained stable, all other price indices rose.

Sugar prices jumped by 6.6% due to concerns over tighter global supplies in the 2024/25 season. The Vegetable Oil Price Index rose 2%, driven by higher prices for palm, rapeseed, soy and sunflower oils.

Dairy prices rose by 4%, driven by higher prices across all major dairy products.

The FAO said:

Dozens of high street banks and building societies have slashed rates on savings products, in a swift response to the Bank of England’s (BoE) decision to lower the base rate last month.

Nearly 40 providers have either reduced their rates or withdrawn products altogether, following the BoE’s quarter-point cut to 4.5%.

Despite these cuts, a number of savings rates still remain above 4.5%. However, experts urge savers to shop around for the best deals and review their accounts regularly, as many may still be sitting on products that fail to beat inflation.

Data released on Monday by the BoE showed that household deposits with banks and building societies increased by £8.4bn in January, following net deposits of £4.7bn in December.

Of that amount, £5.4bn came from additional deposits into interest-bearing sight accounts, which refers to those where the entire balance is accessible without penalty, either by demand or by close of business on the day following that on which the deposit was made, and where interest is payable.

Matthew Ford, CEO and co-founder of Sidekick, said: “The UK's declining base rate coupled with the fact that the household savings rate in the EU sits at a three-year high has created a perfect storm for savers. The appetite to save is there, but it’s marred by widespread uncertainty around how to manage their cash.

“When faced with cuts, it’s vital to regularly review savings accounts. Check the interest rate that you’re getting on your savings and schedule regular reviews of the market using price comparison websites and best buy tables. As today’s cut proves, the market is very dynamic and competitive."

Read the full article here

The euro is on track for its best week since the financial crisis 16 years ago.

The single currency has climbed 4.6% so far this week against the US dollar, from $1.0375 a week ago to $1.086 today.

That would be its biggest gain, in percentage terms, since the week to 20 March 2009.

The euro was up 0.2% against the pound this morning, making it worth just under 84p. It was up 1.6% versus sterling this week, its best performance since February 2023.

Growth in the eurozone rose by 0.2% in the three months to December, faster than anticipated, according to new data from statistics body Eurostat.

This was up from a previous estimate of 0.1% growth.

The change follows a big upgrade to Ireland’s gross domestic product (GDP) in Q4 2024 – it grew by 3.6%, due to growth among its multinationals.

However, France (-0.1%) and Germany (-0.2%) are both on the brink of recession after contracting during the quarter.

It comes a day after the European Central Bank (ECB) downgraded this year’s growth outlook to 0.9%, and next year’s to 1.2% as it cut interest rates for the sixth time since last summer.

Neil Birrell of Premier Miton said:

Read more on Yahoo Finance UK

Oil (BZ=F, CL=F) prices rebounded slightly on Friday, after three days of losses, as markets were shaken by the potential for slowed economic demand.

The black commodity headed to its lowest level in nearly three years on Thursday, with both crude and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) headed for large weekly losses.

As it stands on Friday, crude was 0.8% higher in London, trading just above the $70 a barrel mark. Still, it's set for a weekly loss of 4.4%.

WTI was 0.9% higher, trading at $66.93 a barrel and headed for a weekly loss of 5.1%.

Earlier this week, the US Energy Information Administration reported a larger-than-expected rise in US crude oil stocks. Crude inventories rose by 3.6 million barrels in the past week, outstripping analyst estimates.

Earlier in the week, Opec+ also surprised the market by confirming it would go ahead with a previously delayed plan to produce more crude oil starting in April. This ended a long run of production cuts.

The US owner of the Boots pharmacy chain is being taken over by a private equity firm in a $10bn (£7.8bn) deal.

Sycamore Partners is set to pay $11.45 per share for Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) which caused Walgreens shares to jump nearly 6% in extended trading in New York.

Walgreens chief executive Tim Wentworth said the firm was navigating the "challenges of a rapidly evolving pharmacy industry and an increasingly complex and competitive retail landscape".

George Godber, fund manager at Polar Capital, told the BBC's Today programme that Boots had been "in and out of different ownership for some time" and that "its business model has struggled".

"People are buying more of those personal healthcare brands online than they are in the shop."

There are now 1,900 Boots stores left in the UK after the pharmacy chain began closing shops in June 2023.

The deal is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

German factory orders slumped in January, highlighting the challenge facing chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz.

Industrial orders fell 7.0% month-on-month, the federal statistics office reported, and excluding large orders, incoming orders were 2.7% lower than in the previous month.

On an annual basis, orders were 2.6% lower than a year ago.

The February jobs report is expected to show hiring picked up in February, while the unemployment rate held steady. This comes at a crucial moment for markets as stocks have recently been floundering amid fears about economic growth weakening in the US.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics' monthly jobs report is slated for release at 8:30 a.m. ET on Friday. Economists expect nonfarm payrolls to have risen by 160,000 in February, while the unemployment rate held steady at 4%, according to consensus estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

In January, the US economy added 143,000 jobs. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to 4%.

With markets in a slump — amid a string of weaker-than-expected economic growth data — Citi head of US equity trading strategy Stuart Kaiser told Yahoo Finance that Friday's jobs report is a "pretty significant risk to the market."

"A good jobs print helps, but it's probably not enough to sort things out," Kaiser said. "And if you got a weak print, let's say below 125,000 jobs [added], or in particular, if the unemployment rate rose, I think you would have a pretty big pullback in US equities in response to that."

Kaiser added that options pricing shows an implied move in the S&P 500 of either 1.3% up or down, marking the largest projected move in the index off a jobs report in two years.

China imports sharply declined at the start of this year as the prospect of a trade war with the US took its toll.

Imports fell 8.4% year-on-year in January and February, weaker than the 1% growth expected by economists.

Lynn Song, chief economist for Greater China at ING, said:

Commodities imports generally contracted over the first two months of the year, with crude oil (-10.5%), natural gas (-13.8%), and steel (-7.9%) all still soft. Soybean imports fell 14.8% on the year.

However, China’s exports rose, in the first two months of 2025, up 2.3%, with goods heading to the US rising to almost $76bn. This was the highest total for January and February since 2022 when the COVID pandemic was upending global trade.

The dollar was weaker against a basket of global currencies as US president Donald Trump's trade war continued to spook markets.

Sterling headed above the $1.29 mark in early trade on Friday in London, up 0.2% to cap off a week of gains.On Thursday it hit a four-month high against the dollar.

Over the past five sessions cable has risen around 2.4%, reflecting geopolitical uncertainty around president Donald Trump's tariff policy and negotiations to try to end the Ukraine-Russia war.

The US dollar index (DX-Y.NYB), which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies, dipped 0.2%, meanwhile. Its month-on-month losses are 3.9%.

Currency traders have tended towards safe haven assets such as the Swiss franc over the past few weeks as risk aversion rises. Concerns have set in about what Trump's tariffs could do to both the US economy and countries that see it as a major trading partner.

"Layoffs up, inflation up, consumer confidence down," said Neil Wilson, analyst at TipRanks. "The new Trump effect in action was clear to see. US employers announced 172,017 layoffs for February, up 245% from January and the highest monthly amount since July 2020.

"More than one-third of the total came from Elon Musk’s DOGE cull of federal employees. Nonfarm payrolls are due later, seen +159k, with wages +0.3% and unemployment 4.0%."

President Trump has signed an executive order to establish a strategic reserve for bitcoin (BTC-USD), making the US one of the few countries in the world to create a national stockpile of blockchain assets.

The reserve will be capitalised with bitcoin owned by the federal government that was forfeited as part of criminal or civil asset forfeiture proceedings, the White House crypto czar, billionaire David Sacks, said in a post on social media platform X.

However, the cryptocurrency briefly tumbled more than 5% on the back of the news to below $85,000, and last changed hands around $89,310 at the time of wri.

Trump — who just four years ago said Bitcoin "seems like a scam" — now says he plans to make the US "the Crypto Capital of the World".

Attendees at today’s White House crypto summit expect the event to serve as a stage for Trump to formally announce his plans to build a strategic reserve containing bitcoin and four other cryptocurrencies.

It was unclear how the new stockpile would benefit Americans, but Sacks said it "will not cost taxpayers a dime".

President Donald Trump blamed “globalists” when asked why his tariffs appeared to be scaring the stock market.

Later in the same press event, Trump again blamed “globalists” for the market downturn. “I think it’s globalists that see how rich our country’s going to be, and they don’t like it.”

Wall Street’s fear index, the CBOE Volatility index, closed at its highest level since 18 December , showing investors are jittery.