THE FTSE 100 Index slipped backwards for its fifth day in a row after heavily weighted mining stocks were hit by fresh falls from volatile commodity prices.

London’s blue chip index lost one per cent, or 62.7 points, to close at 5861 as weak sentiment was compounded by ongoing concerns over the eurozone debt crisis.

The US market dropped more than one per cent after factories produced fewer goods in April for the first time in ten months and worse-than-expected data from the housing market.

Markets across the world were dragged downwards as progress made at a meeting of European financial leaders was overshadowed by the arrest of IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

In corporate news, mobile phone company Vodafone posted a nine per cent rise in full-year profits to £9.5bn and surprised analysts with its bullish outlook.

Shares were up 1.5p to 169.7p.

Oil firm BP was among the fallers after the company’s failure to complete a share swap and Arctic exploration deal with Russia’s Rosneft.

The company also announced a $610m (£375m) deal to sell several assets in the UK, including the biggest onshore oil field in Western Europe, to privately- held Perenco UK.

Shares were down 3.65p to 434.8p.

Miners and energy companies lost some of their earlier gains commodity prices fell, with Brent crude down more than one per cent at $109 a barrel.

But Essar Energy was still near the top of the leaders board, ahead 12.1p to 424.2p after an upbeat trading statement. Oil and gas exploration firm BG Group lost earlier gains to slip 8p to 1332p.

Outside the top flight, builders merchant Travis Perkins announced it had bought 13 stores from the administrators of Focus DIY for £8.4m. Its shares were down 16p to 1021p.