UK braces for price rises driven by Iran war as economic confidence plummets

Confidence in the UK economy has fallen sharply amid the mounting economic fallout from the Iran war, surveys show, as businesses prepare to raise their prices and consumers brace for a fresh cost of living shock.Highlighting the knock-on effect of the Middle East crisis in Britain, several closely watched surveys of business activity and consumer confidence blamed the US-Israeli war on Iran for a marked deterioration in the outlook in April.The latest barometer from the data company GfK showed UK consumer confidence slid in April to its lowest level since October 2023, while three separate business surveys revealed an increase in cost pressures facing companies and an expectation they would raise their prices over the coming months.Neil Bellamy, consumer insights director at GfK, said soaring fuel prices and the prospect of higher energy costs were a constant reminder to consumers of the inflationary shock from the war.“Consumers really do have the jitters now,” he said

American Airlines says soaring price of jet fuel will cost it $4bn this year

The soaring price of jet fuel will cost American Airlines another $4bn this year, the carrier has said, wiping out forecast profits.The airline, the world’s largest by passengers flown, said the fuel crisis from the US-Israel war on Iran could push it into losses during 2026, having forecast profits approaching $1.8bn before bombing started.The price of jet fuel has more than doubled since the conflict began at the end of February. While many European airlines have hedged their fuel, locking in a purchase price for months or years ahead, American carriers have been exposed to the price rises

Fertiliser is in short supply. What does it mean for Australia’s farmers – and your bread?

The US-Israel war on Iran is delivering a double blow to Australian farmers, who are being hit by the spike in diesel prices as well as an equally severe surge in the price of fertiliser.Soaring fuel costs are hurting almost every business and household but growers are now making decisions about planting that will affect the size of their crops come harvest time.So why are we experiencing this fertiliser squeeze, how much worse could it get, and what does it all mean for farmers and the price of food?A fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas shipments pass through the strait of Hormuz, which has essentially been shut since the US and Israel attacked Iran at the end of February.But the share of world supply of urea – the most popular commonly used fertiliser – that typically passed through the strait before the conflict was more than twice that, at 43%.For sulphur – used to produce phosphate fertilisers – the figure is 44%

BP board suffers triple climate rebellion from shareholders

BP’s board has suffered a triple climate rebellion in its first shareholder meeting since appointing new leadership to steer the embattled oil company.More than 50% of shareholders voting at the company’s annual general meeting (AGM) came out against its plans to scrap its existing climate reporting, and its resolution to replace in-person annual shareholder meetings – a lightning rod for climate protest in recent years – with online-only events.About 18% of shareholders voted against the re-election of BP’s chair, Albert Manifold, less than a year after he took on the role. The “unprecedented” revolt means BP will not be allowed to carry out the resolutions that were defeated by a majority, although Manifold will remain as chair.The dissenting shareholders included Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM), the UK’s largest asset manager, which had said it would vote against Manifold and oppose BP’s plans to cut back on climate reporting

UK undershoots annual borrowing target by £700m

The UK government budget came in below its annual borrowing target by £700m, official figures show – but the Iran war is likely to blow a hole in Rachel Reeves’s carefully calculated fiscal “headroom” over the coming months.The government borrowed a net total of £132bn for the financial year ending in March, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. This slightly undershot the £132.7bn that the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) had forecast just last month.The total was £19

Sainsbury’s boss urges government to help ease rising energy costs for food producers

The boss of Sainsbury’s has called on the government to help ease the rising cost of energy for farmers, food producers and retailers caused by the conflict in the Middle East to prevent further price rises.Simon Roberts, the chief executive of the UK’s second largest grocer, said: “The single biggest thing the government could do to keep prices down is to make sure energy prices for the industry are not rising faster.”Referring to the expansion of support on bills for energy-intensive UK businesses announced by the chancellor last week, Roberts said: “Some sectors have seen those reliefs and it is now time to look at what’s possible in food [growing], manufacturing and retailing.”He said Sainsbury’s had not yet had problems with the availability of food, and that was being helped by the UK entering the season in which more food is home-grown. The growing season is in full swing in the UK but that takes a lot of energy to produce,” he said, highlighting the cost of heating polytunnels to produce fruit and salad vegetables, higher fuel costs to transport food from farms to shops, and the cost of running refrigerators