Iran latest: Oil price passes $100 for first time since 2022 as Starmer warns of economic impact
Oil more than $100 a barrel and stock markets falling – a round-up of the marketspublished at 12:36 GMT
Nick Edser
Business reporter
With oil and gas prices rising – and the markets falling – as a result of the ongoing US-Israel war with Iran, let’s take a quick look at how the financial markets are faring.
Global oil prices have jumped on fears that there will be a lengthy disruption to energy supplies through the key Strait of Hormuz shipping route. The price of Brent crude reached nearly $120 (£90) a barrel earlier on Monday, before falling back to around $104.
However, that’s still a big rise on the $93-a-barrel it was at the end of last week.
Gas prices have also jumped. UK gas prices surged by nearly 25% to 171p a therm when trading started on Monday, before slipping back to about 156p.
European stock markets are lower, following steep falls earlier in Asia. London’s FTSE 100 index is down 1.1%, Germany’s Dax index has dropped 1.6% while France’s Cac 40 has fallen 2%.
UK government borrowing costs have continued to rise as markets rethink the prospects for the future direction of interest rates.
Before the conflict, interest rate cuts had been expected this year, but this has changed given the expected impact of the oil price surge on inflation. On Monday, the yield – or interest rate – on two-year government bonds, which indicates how much it would cost to borrow money for two years, rose sharply to 4.12% from 3.87%.
