February showers dampen hospitality sales March 18, 2026 February’s wet weather kept Brits at home as hospitality sales fell compared to last year, extending a poor start to the year for the sector. The rainy month meant total like-for-like sales were 0.2 per cent lower than in February 2025, with sales having dropped 0.1 per cent year on year in January, according to [...]
Iran war to drive up building costs, warns Travis Perkins boss March 17, 2026 The boss of the UK’s largest builders’ merchant has warned building costs are poised to rise as suppliers warn they are facing soaring energy costs. Gavin Slark, the new boss of Travis Perkins, said the conflict in the Middle East and the resulting spike of energy prices will force manufacturers to put up prices to [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks inch up; Gas prices surge after drone attacks March 17, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. The FTSE 100 closed up 0.5 per cent yesterday, settling at 10,317.69p led by a three per cent jump in Endeavour Mining. It came as global markets were brought some reprieve from declining oil prices. The price of Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil [...]
‘No one expects’ Bank of England to cut interest rates, says former MPC member March 17, 2026 A former member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has said that “no one expects a cut” to interest rates amidst deepening conflict in the Middle East. Prof Jonathan Haskel, who is also a member of City AM’s Shadow Monetary Policy Committee, told BBC Radio 4’s ‘Today’ programme he believes a rates [...]
‘Pressure point’: Oil prices spike as Trump turns up heat on Nato March 16, 2026 The price of oil spiked once more as trading for the new week began after Donald Trump ramped up pressure on his Nato peers to help get supply flowing. Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil prices, jumped 2.9 per cent as trading open after the weekend to near $106.12 a barrel, but later gave [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks jump, Oil spikes, fresh Thames Water rescue deal March 16, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. This morning Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil prices, rose 1.8 per cent to $104.98 per barrel during early trading in Asia. It follows President Trump stating he is unwilling to make a deal with Iran and his energy secretary warning the war will [...]
Manufacturers warn of ‘fragile footing’ as Iran war threatens to hike costs March 16, 2026 UK manufacturing has started the year on “fragile footing,” with its economic standing likely to worsen due to the conflict in the Middle East, the sector’s industry has warned. A new report from Make UK revealed the sector is set to grow by just shy one one per cent in 2026, a modest rebound after [...]
Ed Miliband rejects ‘totally false’ calls to drill North Sea March 15, 2026 Ed Miliband has dismissed calls for the UK to exploit the North Sea’s oil supply, despite widespread calls to drill the area as fears of an energy shock rise amidst the war in the Middle East. The energy secretary said: “Some people want to go around and pretend that if we only we draw more [...]
Oil crisis to ‘push UK into recession’ after growth flatlines March 13, 2026 Fears that the ongoing crisis in the Middle East will plunge the UK into a recession have been amplified after fresh figures revealed the economy flatlined in January. The price of oil closed above $100 for the first time since 2022 last night as interventions from the global energy body failed to calm markets amid [...]
‘Taxed to a standstill’ – UK economy grinds to a halt with no growth in January March 13, 2026 The UK economy saw zero growth in the first month of the year – before global markets were rocked by the outbreak of war in the Middle East. Fresh figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have handed a major blow to Rachel Reeves with the economy flat in January, compared to the 0.2 [...]