Stories

Tue, 31 Mar 2026

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 Oil nears highest price since start of Iran war

The US-Israel Iran war has halted almost all traffic in a key waterway and the price Brent crude has surged.

* Brent crude oil price briefly hit $119 per barrel, its highest since the start of the US-Israel war with Iran
* Wholesale oil prices have surged and car fuel prices have jumped to their highest in years
* Petrol prices at the pump topped $4 a gallon for the first time in nearly four years in the US
* In the UK, petrol has hit 152.8p a litre, its highest in two years, while diesel rose to 182.77p, its highest level since December 2022
* Average energy bills in the UK are forecast to rise an average of £288 a year from July for a typical dual-fuel household
* Airlines have been affected by the price surge, with jet fuel prices increasing and carriers such as Air France-KLM and SAS raising prices or cutting flights
* The UK government has denied that there is a shortage of jet fuel shipments, but experts say there are concerns about supply chains and prices.