Fertiliser shortages to have dramatic effect on food prices, says Duke of Westminster’s firm

Fertiliser shortages caused by the Iran war have driven up costs for UK farmers by up to 70% and will have a “dramatic” impact on food prices globally next year, according to one of Britain’s most powerful property and farming companies.Mark Preston, executive trustee of the 349-year-old Grosvenor Group, controlled by the Duke of Westminster, said fertiliser “was already quite expensive” before the 50% to 70% surge in prices since the start of the Iran war in late February.The effective closure of the strait of Hormuz – which Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Wednesday could soon reopen – has throttled global supplies of fertiliser, crucial to growing food crops.Preston said that, although UK crops were unlikely to be affected this year as most fertiliser had already been used, the knock-on effect could arrive next year. “Farmers are not buying that fertiliser, they’re sitting on their hands and hoping things will improve, which they probably won’t,” he said

JD Sports says Iran war could hit consumer spending and raise prices

The sports fashion retailer JD has warned that profits will fall this year amid a “muted market” hit by weaker spending by young people and concerns about the Middle East conflict.The company, which runs 4,800 stores worldwide including the JD, Blacks and Millets chains in the UK, said it expected profits of between £750m and £850m in the year ahead, after reporting £852m in the year to the end of January.JD said there had been “no material business impact to date” from the conflict in the Middle East, where it operates a small number of stores through franchise agreements.However, it said that the Iran war could push up costs and prices. It said: “Over time, the potential future impacts of heightened uncertainty may contribute to direct cost pressures, including energy and fuel costs across our store and logistics networks, respectively, as well as potential indirect impacts on pricing and consumer demand should input cost inflation emerge

Climate campaigners attack Shell over ‘windfall’ profits from Iran war

Shell has reported better than expected profits of $6.9bn (£5bn) after its oil traders reaped the benefits of soaring energy prices during the war in Iran, angering climate campaigners.Europe’s biggest oil and gas company posted a 115% jump in first-quarter profits from the $3.2bn reported in the last three months of 2025.The profits easily surpassed the $6

Cut UK speed limits to reduce Iran war impact on consumers, thinktank urges

Britain should lower speed limits for drivers as part of a package of measures to reduce the impact of the Iran war on consumers, a thinktank has said.Capping legal speeds at 20mph in towns and cities and 60mph on motorways would help reduce fuel demand and combat soaring oil prices triggered by conflict, according to the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR).The institute said ministers should also temporarily cut fuel duty by 10p and bring in a new energy price cap of £2,000 a year to support consumers, while warning that inflation could peak as high as 5.8% if nothing is done to prevent it.“The UK cannot afford to sit back and let another energy shock drive up inflation and damage the economy,” said William Ellis, a senior economist at the IPPR

Oil prices fall as Trump says strait of Hormuz ‘open to all’ if Iran accepts deal

Oil prices fell and stock markets rose as Donald Trump said the war with Iran would end and the strait of Hormuz would be “open to all” if Tehran struck a deal with Washington.The US president posted on social media: “Assuming Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to, which is, perhaps, a big assumption, the already legendary Epic Fury will be at an end, and the highly effective Blockade will allow the Hormuz Strait to be OPEN TO ALL, including Iran.”However, he added that if Iran did not strike a deal, “the bombing starts” and “it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before”.It came after the president said he would briefly pause his “Project Freedom” operation escorting ships through the strait, which carries about a fifth of the world’s oil supplies but has been blockaded by Iran since late February, triggering a global energy crisis.Trump said he was stopping the operation for “a short period” so he could finalise a deal with Tehran but added that his blockade of Iranian ports would remain in place

Trainline says Middle East tensions hitting European rail bookings

Trainline has said the US standoff with Iran is hitting its revenues, with rail ticket sales to foreign visitors to Europe affected.The UK-based international ticketing agent said it expected revenues to stay flat or decline over the coming year, citing “the effects of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East on inbound air traffic into Europe”.Airlines have reported later bookings, with considerable consumer uncertainty around summer travel plans. The US-Israel war on Iran, closure of the strait of Hormuz and subsequent blockades have raised doubts about global jet fuel supply, with carriers already beginning to cancel thousands of flights.Shares in the company fell on its earnings guidance, with Middle East tensions adding to Trainline’s prior warnings of headwinds, including UK ticketing policy