Bank of England’s Bailey: Interest rates hike may not be needed May 29, 2026 The Bank of England may not raise interest rates in response to the Iran war and has already effectively tightened monetary policy by taking the prospect of future rate cuts off the table, governor Andrew Bailey has said. In a speech in Iceland, the central banking chief said that inflation is “likely to go higher” [...]
BP chair Manifold hits back at ‘false’ misconduct claims May 27, 2026 BP’s ousted chair has hit back at the group’s decision to fire him over governance issues, launching a robust defence of his short-lived tenure on the supermajor’s board and rejecting the “false narrative” surrounding his sudden departure. In a move poised to plunge the London-listed energy giant into a full-blown governance crisis, Albert Manifold defended [...]
As it happened: US-Iran peace hopes sends oil lower; Brits handed energy price cap blow May 27, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Global markets were able to take the new developments in the Middle East in their stride on Tuesday amid hopes a peace deal was on the horizon. The FTSE 100 ended the day in the green and despite some choppy trading oil prices eased. This [...]
Petrol prices hit Iran war high as oil tops $100 again May 26, 2026 Petrol prices in the UK have hit a new high since the Iran war began, as the price of oil jumped back up to $100 per barrel following fresh US strikes. The average price of a litre of petrol is now 159.43p in the UK, according to motoring services firm the RAC. This petrol price [...]
Trump on Iran: ‘Either a great deal or no deal’ as oil price reacts May 25, 2026 The prospect of a lasting peace deal between the US and Iran pushed the global oil price lower on Monday even as secretary of state Marco Rubio’s warned that a deal was far from done, putting a dampener on traders’ hopes. Brent Crude fell by over five per cent on Monday, taking the world’s main [...]
Retail sales plummet as Iran war hits consumer confidence May 22, 2026 Retail sales plummeted by 1.3 per cent in April, as Brits cut back on spending amid increasing pressure from the war in Iran. The huge fall in retail sales volumes in April was the largest since May last year and defied economists’ forecasts of a softer drop. This comes after a 0.6 per cent rise in [...]
Losses balloon at Easyjet despite seeing ‘no disruption’ to jet fuel supplies May 21, 2026 Easyjet has played down fears that a jet fuel crisis caused by the Middle East will rip through its low-cost model, saying it has kept price rises to a minimum despite losses at the carrier ballooning to more than half a billion pounds. The London-listed carrier told investors it was “not seeing any disruption” to [...]
As it happened: Stocks jittery as Iran war drags on; Reeves unveil cost-of-living package May 21, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. Donald Trump has warned Iran there are two options that could see the US finishing the war in Iran, with one that will “see a few people killed as opposed to a lot”. He added: “We could do it either way.” It’s the latest threat from the White [...]
Top Bank of England officials warn Reeves against supermarket price cap May 20, 2026 Senior Bank of England officials have warned that price controls on essential goods are not an effective long-term tool to lower the cost of living, after it emerged the Treasury was pushing supermarkets to commit to cap prices of consumer staples. Speaking at a Treasury Committee appearance, governor Andrew Bailey told MPs that controlling the [...]
Are we in the calm before the economic storm? May 20, 2026 There is a palpable sense of being in the calm before the storm. Thanks to the backward-looking nature of most economic data releases, we’re being fed glimpses of the gathering gloom. The latest GDP growth data from the ONS covered Q1 and came in at a respectable 0.6 per cent. However, it has been widely [...]