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Sat, 07 Mar 2026

Sat, 07 Mar 2026 There’s an inflation wave coming - what does the Iran war mean for the UK economy?

Economic consequences are an intrinsic aspect of the Iran conflict, writes BBC economics editor Faisal Islam.

* Global oil prices rose by 27% since the conflict began
* Crude oil price increased from $63 per barrel to $94 per barrel
* Gas prices in the UK surged from 74p per therm to £1.35 per therm (and reached as high as £1.70)
* The gilt rate, or effective interest rate on 10-year government borrowing, rose from 4.4% to 4.6%
* Mortgage rates are being repriced by banks, and a mortgage price war is unlikely
* The Bank of England (BoE) is expected to wait and see before cutting interest rates again
* US President Donald Trump has suggested the conflict could last for weeks or months