May 24 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 index is seen opening 20 points higher at 7,039 on Monday, according to financial bookmakers.

* ASTRAZENECA: AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine was only slightly less effective against the variant first found in India than the strain identified in Kent, the company's Chief Executive Officer Pascal Soriot said in an interview with Financial Times on Friday.

* WEJO: Wejo is in talks to go public through a reverse merger with blank-check company Virtuoso Acquisition Corp in a deal that would value the British connected car data start-up at more than $1 billion, two people familiar with the matter said.

* GOLD: Gold prices climbed to hover near a 4-1/2-month high, supported by a weaker U.S. dollar and growing inflationary pressure, while a slide in cryptocurrencies further lifted the safe-haven metal's appeal.

* OIL: Oil prices rose as a storm formed in the Gulf of Mexico and Iran said a three-month nuclear monitoring deal had expired, raising doubts about the future of indirect talks that could end U.S. sanctions on Iranian crude exports.

* The UK blue-chip index was flat on Friday, posting a weekly loss, as weakness in mining stocks countered a bigger-than-expected jump in retail sales and business activity.

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

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(Reporting by Priyanshi Mandhan in Bengaluru)

((Priyanshi.Mandhan@thomsonreuters.com; +91 9650985606;))