July 18 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening 36 points higher at 7,662 on Wednesday, according to financial bookmakers.
* BHP BILLITON: Global miner BHP Billiton Ltd BLT.L posted record iron ore output for fiscal 2018 on Wednesday as fourth-quarter production topped expectations and set a slightly higher target for the current year. RIO TINTO: Guinea is in constant talks with Rio Tinto RIO.L and Chinalco to finalise a deal on the Simandou iron ore project, its mining minister said on Tuesday, adding he was confident an agreement would be reached. RYANAIR: Ryanair RYA.I plans to cancel only 1 percent of its flights during a strike by Ireland-based pilots on Friday, but Europe's largest low-cost airline is bracing for far wider industrial action across five countries next week. GOLD: Gold prices on Wednesday held steady near a one-year low hit in the previous session, as the dollar firmed after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's U.S. economic outlook reinforced views the central bank is on track to steadily hike interest rates. OIL: Oil prices dropped on Wednesday after an industry group reported that U.S. crude inventories rose last week, defying analyst expectations for a significant reduction. The UK blue chip FTSE 100 .FTSE index ended the session up 0.3 percent at 7,626.44 points on Tuesday, as encouraging results flowed in from companies including Royal Mail (LON:RMG) and TalkTalk, though uncertainty over Brexit capped gains. For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets
* UK CORPORATE DIARY: BHP Billiton PLC
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