UK shares inched higher on Friday, on course for their best weekly showing since mid-March, as strong metal prices boosted miners, while investors dialled back bets of aggressive U.S. interest rate hikes.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 rose 0.1% in early deals and the domestically oriented FTSE midcap index climbed 0.2%.

Asian shares extended overnight global gains as investors took comfort from Federal Reserve minutes suggesting it could pause its rapid rate hikes later this year.

UK-listed global miners such as Glencore, Rio Tinto and Antofagasta rose about 1% each as copper and iron ore prices were boosted by a weaker dollar.

Retailers such as Marks & Spencer and Next led the charge in UK equity markets on Thursday, after a new 15 billion pound ($19 billion) package of support for households struggling to meet soaring energy bills spurred hopes of more spending.

Food delivery company Deliveroo slipped almost 4% after JPMorgan downgraded the stock to "neutral".

(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)