July 14 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 index is seen

opening higher on Tuesday, with futures up 0.1%.

* SPIRE HEALTHCARE: Spire Healthcare chair Ian Cheshire

will step down in the coming months and could be replaced by one

of the company's existing non-executive directors, Sky News

reported.

* DEFENCE: Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed Britain up to an

EU defence loan for Ukraine.

* OIL: Oil prices rose nearly 3% to their highest in four weeks,

as the U.S. reimposed its naval blockade of Iran while the two

countries stepped up attacks in the Strait of Hormuz.

* GOLD: Gold rose after hitting a two-week low earlier in the

session, as markets awaited key U.S. inflation data, with

escalating U.S.-Iran tensions driving oil prices higher and

reinforcing expectations of Federal Reserve rate hikes.

* METALS: Copper fell slightly in London amid the latest

escalation in the Middle East conflict, as demand fears offset

concerns about a potential supply chain crunch.

* The UK blue-chip index closed flat on Monday as higher

oil prices boosted energy stocks, offsetting losses in

financials and miners amid renewed U.S.-Iran military exchanges.

* UK CORPORATE DIARY:

BP Trading statement

Watches of Switzerland ( WOSGF ) FY results

Robert Walters Q2 trading statement

Hunting PLC ( HNTIF ) HY trading statement

Ashmore Q4 AUM

RM PLC HY results

IntegraFin Holdings Q3 trading statement

Atalaya Mining Copper SA Q2 operations update

* For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please

click on:

TODAY'S UK PAPERS

> Financial Times

> Other business headlines

(Compiled by Anushka Chourasia in Bengaluru)