UK Stocks-Factors to watch on October 15

Oct 15 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening lower on Thursday, with futures down 0.2%.

* INTEREST RATE: A future interest rate increase by the Bank of England should not be interpreted by investors as the start of a long series of increases, BoE Chief Economist Huw Pill said on Thursday.

* SHIPPING: British finance minister John Healey called on other nations to tighten sanctions on Russia-linked shipping, as he prepared to meet his foreign counterparts at the International Monetary Fund's annual meetings in Bangkok on Thursday.

* OIL: Oil prices fell more than 1% as investors weighed risks to supply from attacks on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz against US efforts to cut petroleum shipping costs by easing sanctions on vessels.

* GOLD: Gold rose more than 1%, rebounding from a one-week low hit in the previous session as the US dollar eased.

* METALS: Copper slipped, pressured by a selloff in the equities markets and concerns about further interest rate hikes, while aluminium prices fell for a third straight session.

* EX-DIVS: Diageo DGE.L, Tesco TSCO.L and Smiths Group SMIN.L will trade without entitlement to its latest dividend pay-out on Thursday.

* FTSE: UK stocks ended higher on Wednesday, supported by a rise in healthcare and consumer staples sectors, which gained on a weaker sterling after data showed US inflation came in hotter than expected.

* UK CORPORATE DIARY:

* For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: LIVE/

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