The FTSE 100 rallied today, rebounding from the previous session's falls after a drop in the dollar boosted commodity prices and gave a lift to mining and oil shares.

London' s blue chip index closed 1% higher at 5,898.76 ending a three-day losing streak that had seen the index shed 4%.

The rally came as expectations for a rate hike from the US Federal Reserve evaporated.That sent the dollar tumbling, making dollar-priced crude oil and metals cheaper for holders of other currencies.

Image source, Getty Images

Scuffles have broken out and police have used teargas in the Greek capital of Athens during a mass rally against government pension reforms. 

The government says the reforms are needed to meet the demands of international creditors but around 50,000 Greeks have taken to the streets to march, initially peacefully, on parliament calling for the government to ditch the proposals.

Black clad youths have hurled stones and petrol bombs at police, who responded with rounds of teargas and stun grenades. 

Some of the youths smashed bus stops and set a car alight after the march, during a cat-and-mouse game between police and protesters in the back streets of central Athens.

Having been higher by as much as 100 points earlier the Dow Jones is currently up 43 points at 16,380.04, while the S&P 500 has just crept into positive territory by 0.7 points at 1,913.37. The Nasdaq meanwhile is a bit lower at 4,501.55. 

Most of the positive momentum has come from a recovery in oil prices this afternoon. 

US light crude was up 2.3% at $33.03 while Brent crude was up 0.9% at $35.34. 

Oil prices have recovered by about 30% since hitting $27 in January. But today's rally appears to have petered out based, as it was, on a report that Iran backs an Opec meeting to talk about export levels. 

Speculation over an emergency Opec gathering has been rife for weeks without any real signs of progress and with Saudi Arabia ominously silent on the prospects of a meeting in March. 

With all the buzz around the latest Bank of England inflation report it seems this little gem was missed earlier.

The European Commission has also cut its economic growth forecast for the eruozone for 2016 because of increased global risks.

The Commission forecasts the economy to expand by 1.7% this year from 1.6% in 2015 and then 1.9 % in 2017.

The growth estimate for this year was revised down from a previous forecast of 1.8% growth in November. The 2017 figure was unchanged. 

Weekly applications for jobless aid rose 8,000 to a seasonally adjusted 285,000, the US Labor Department has said. 

The four-week average, a less volatile measure, increased slightly to 284,750. The number of people collecting aid has dropped 5.5% in the past year to 2.3 million, it adds.

Roy Rickhuss, general secretary of Community, the steelworkers’ union has responded to the latest results from Tata Steel.

Image source, Getty Images

US factory orders hit their lowest level in a year in December and showed demand for US made goods fell for the first time in six years.

The US Commerce Department says factory orders dropped 2.9% in December. That was the fourth drop in the past five months. 

For the entire year, factory orders fell 6.6%, marking the first annual decline since 2009.

Image source, Getty Images

US shares are searching for direction it appears, with the three main markets on Wall Street essentially flat.

The Dow Jones is up - if that's what you can call it - by 0.01% at 16,338.4. The Nasdaq is down 0.39% at 4,486.89 while the S&P 500 is down 0.05% at 1,911.54. 

US light crude is currently up 3.22% to $33.32. Brent crude is up 1.83% at $35.56 after reports that Iran is said to be in favour of an extraordinary Opec meeting. 

The lack of movement in shares currently is believed to be because investors are thought to be waiting a report into factory orders in December due out at 10:00 local time.

We're pretty sure the chancellor isn't talking about a Vesper here (that's three measures of gin, one of vodka and half a measure of Kina Lillet - which sounds pretty dangerous if you ask me).

There's a bit more from Tata Steel's European chief executive  Karl Koehler. He says Tata has encountered a "perfect storm caused by the deterioration of our financial performance in the last quarter" which led the firm to announce its restructuring in the UK where its operations also face higher regulatory costs. 

As previously reported two weeks ago Tata Steel has confirmed it plans to cut 1,050 jobs in the UK, including 750 at Port Talbot, the UK's biggest steelworks.

The firm said 100 jobs would go across mills in Trostre, Corby and Hartlepool, along with 200 support jobs.

The plans are a result of falling European steel prices "caused by a flood of cheap imports, particularly from China", Tata said at the time.

Image source, Getty Images

India's Tata Steel has reported a loss in its third quarter, hit by cheap imports into India and Europe and sluggish demand. 

Net losses were 21.27bn rupees (£216m) in the three months to the end of December compared with a profit of 1.57bn rupees a year earlier.

Revenue dropped 16.5% to 280.39bn rupees compared with 336.33bn rupees a year ago. 

Shares on the FTSE 100 have fallen into negative territory following the publication of the Bank of England's latest Quarterly Inflation Report. London's blue chip index is now down 0.83% at 5836.31. It's quite clear from the above graph that investors haven't taken the revision in UK economic growth this year and next well. 

Afternoon folks and thanks to Russell, Chris and Karen for manning the livepage this morning. There are still plenty of results to come from the US including NewsCorp and Linkedin among others so stay with me.

You've got to admire these reporters' persistence in seeking interest rate guidance. Mr Carney is asked if he could be the first Bank governor in decades to complete his tenure without raising rates? "You can only be assessed after your term has finished. It's not about action for action's sake. It's about the right policy. It's about delivering financial stability, and that's how we will be judged."

The British Chambers of Commerce responds to the Inflation Report:   

Image source, BoE

Want to read the Bank's Inflation Report for yourself? Click here, external and dive in.

BBC economics editor Kamal Ahmed tweets:

More questions about the Governor's view on Brexit hit a brick wall. "We're not going to weigh into a big political debate where we do not belong," he responds.