London: Britain’s main equity index fell for a fourth day on Friday, weighed down energy and mining shares as iron ore plunged while crude oil, gold and copper gave back some of their recent gains.

Iron ore futures in China and Singapore slid as much as 4 per cent on worries global producers would continue to lift supply in a glut-hit market.

The head of Rio Tinto, the world’s second-largest iron ore miner dismissed as “hare-brained” a suggestion by smaller rival Fortescue Metals Group that miners should cap output of the steelmaking raw material to boost prices.

Shares in Rio fell 1.1 per cent.

The broader FTSE 100 index was down 0.2 per cent at 6,885.20 points at 0905 GMT, taking its loss for the week to 2 per cent.

The FTSE had hit an all-time high on Tuesday and many traders expect it to resume its rise shortly as low interest rates and a global economic recovery drive flows into shares.

“We have a continuation of the pullback today but I do think we’re going to see a leg upwards next week,” Joe Rundle, head of trading at ETX Capital, said.

“I’m buying now because I’d rather buy on the dip but I think we could see 6,800.” Gold and copper miners also weighed on the FTSE as both metals snapped their recent rallies, which had been fuelled by expectations of low US interest rates and tighter supply, respectively.

Energy stocks were hit by a fall in oil prices. Crude dropped more than $1 after a two-day rally, which had been fuelled by geopolitical tensions in the oil-rich Middle East.

Bounce in airlines

Goldman Sachs said the strikes in Yemen would have little effect on oil supplies as the country was only a small crude exporter and tankers could avoid passing its waters to reach their ports of destination.

Oil majors BP and Shell all shed around 1 per cent.

On the upside, the slump in oil prices fuelled a bounce in airlines, with easyJet up 2.6 per cent.

Dublin-based drugmaker Shire rose 1.5 per cent after UBS raised its target price on the shares on positive expectations for its Natpara and Gattex drugs and favourable currency fluctuations.

“Natpara and Gattex should both become blockbuster products over time,” analysts at UBS wrote in a note.

Vodafone rose 1.5 per cent after paying a lower-than-feared 2.8 billion pounds for airwaves in India.