oil

Jenny Cosgrave talks to a trio of wealth managers about their outlook for the commodities sector and finds out which strategies stand out from the crowd

Geopolitical events may cause aggressive short-term moves in the oil price but there is still room for optimism, writes Tom Nelson, co-manager of the £206.3m Guinness Global Energy fund

Increasing tensions between the West and Iran have helped push Brent crude to an eight-month high of $121 a barrel, leaving many concerned over the longer-term impact.

The price of Brent crude hit a six-month high last night amid fears Iran had halted exports to Europe.

UK oil leviathan BP today announced its first dividend hike since it resumed payouts a year ago, after revealing profits had soared in the fourth quarter of 2011.

UK stocks were muted mid-morning as investors took profits and fretted once more over the outlook for Europe and the Greek debt deal.

John Dodd and Richard Hulf, managers of the £84m Artemis Global Energy fund, are reducing exposure to eurozone-domiciled assets as they refine their approach to stock selection.

Brazil became the world's sixth largest economy in 2011, overtaking the UK, after continuing to see breakneck growth while the UK economy stuttered.

With equity markets around the world diving in the latter half of the year amid the turmoil in Europe and global growth fears, a number of funds were hit particularly hard.

Goldman Sachs' global markets team has revealed six key trading recommendations for 2012, based on forecasts of a deeper recession in Europe, a slowdown in the US and below trend growth in China.