FTSE 100 Live: Stocks inch back up; UK faces energy bills warning Markets Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Yesterday, Rachel Reeves delivered her Spring Statement. The Chancellor wheeled out new forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility that cut growth for 2026 but – albeit modestly – upgraded it for the years to come. But forecasts were quickly labelled out of date by [...]
Reeves to meet North Sea oil bosses amid inflation ‘uncertainty’ Economics Chancellor Rachel Reeves has revealed she will meet North Sea oil and gas bosses on Wednesday in London, with a market price surge putting the UK economy’s path towards lower inflation in jeopardy. Reeves told MPs during her Spring Statement that she would meet energy bosses from companies operating off Scotland as the government looks [...]
UK gas prices spike over 90 per cent amid US-Iran war Economics Gas prices in the UK have nearly doubled as the war between US and Iran ramped up since the weekend. The price of UK wholesale gas prices – which reflect the costs energy suppliers pay to producers for natural gas before selling to household and businesses – has rocketed by 93 per cent in just [...]
Gas prices ‘go stratospheric’ as Qatari plant hit by Iran strikes March 2, 2026 European gas prices surged on Monday after Iranian retaliatory strikes shut down the world’s largest export plant for liquified natural gas (LNG), based in Qatar. In a statement, QaterEnergy, the Qatari state energy company, said it had ceased production of LNG due to “military attacks” on Ras Laffan Industrial City and Mesaieed Industrial City. “One [...]
Energy tycoon fires up UK gas storage project September 22, 2025 An Irish energy tycoon has revealed plans to build a new gas storage site in the Irish Sea that would boost the UK’s capacity by over 50 per cent. Tony O’Reilly Jr’s Dcarbonx, which is backed by gas infrastructure behemoth Snam, wants to redevelop a former gas site off the coast of Barrow-in-Furness as part [...]
Trump hikes India tariffs to 50 per cent for fuelling Russian ‘war machine’ August 6, 2025 President Donald Trump has imposed an additional 25 per cent tariff on India after the country’s government imported Russian Federation Oil. In an executive order signed on Wednesday, the White House said it would slap Indian imports with the fresh levy taking their overall rate to 50 per cent. The President warned on Tuesday he [...]
Shell: FTSE 100 giant takes profit beat amid weak oil prices July 31, 2025 FTSE 100 juggernaut Shell posted a dramatic hit to earnings in the second quarter amid a volatile period for oil and gas prices. The London-listed oil major recorded $4.26bn (£3.21bn) marking a 32 per cent fall from the second quarter of 2024, where the firm pocketed $6.29bn. But Shell managed to scrape past an LSEG-compiled [...]
Ofgem gives green light to landmark electric grid upgrade July 1, 2025 The UK’s energy regulator has approved a £24bn investment to upgrade the UK’s energy infrastructure as a part of its green transition. The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) move comes as the government renews its push for cleaner energy, despite backlash around the impact on prices. Over £15bn is set to be deployed [...]
Centrica: British gas owner to sell stake in North Sea gas field to Ithaca Energy May 20, 2025 Centrica has announced plans to sell off a big chunk of its holding in the Cygnus gas field in the southern North Sea. The deal will see Spirit Energy – a subsidiary of Centrica – offload its 46.25 per cent stake in the site for around £215m to Ithaca Energy. Centrica, which owns British Gas, [...]
Ofgem: Energy price cap will rise in April February 25, 2025 Households will pay an extra £9.25 for their electricity each month from April as Ofgem increases its energy price cap by 6.4 per cent. The price cap – which sets a maximum rate per unit and standing charge that can be billed to customers for their energy use – will rise by £111 for an [...]