Sharp rises in the price of oil and gas as a result of the war in Iran have set off an economic chain reaction which is already hitting people in the pocket.
admin
Sharp rises in the price of oil and gas as a result of the war in Iran have set off an economic chain reaction which is already hitting people in the pocket.
The benchmark Brent crude oil remains above $110 a barrel, compared to around $72 before the war.
And a unit of wholesale gas now stands at 150p – almost double the 77p per unit it was just three weeks ago.
As a result, it is thought that inflation – which was anticipated to fall to 2% by the end of the year – could, in fact, now reach 5%, according to Thomas Pugh, the chief economist at accounting firm RSM.
While City traders believe there could be three more interest rate hikes coming later this year.
Money blog: Bank of England says it’s ‘ready to act’ over Iran war
Interest rate hikes
More on Cost Of Living Related Topics:
And as these forecasts tick up, so too does the chance of an interest hike.
Towards the end of February the consensus was that borrowing costs would come down this year – the focus of the discussion was simply by how much, and when.
You need javascript enabled to view this content
Enable javascript to share Share
