July 14 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening higher on Tuesday, with futures FFIc1 up 0.1%.

* SPIRE HEALTHCARE: Spire Healthcare SPI.L 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 .FTSE 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	BP.L	Trading statement
Watches of Switzerland	WOSG.L	FY results
Robert Walters	RWA.L	Q2 trading statement
Hunting PLC	HTG.L	HY trading statement
Ashmore	ASHM.L	Q4 AUM
RM PLC	RM.L	HY results
IntegraFin Holdings	IHPI.L	Q3 trading statement
Atalaya Mining Copper SA	ATYM.L	Q2 operations update

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

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