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 [...]
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 [...]
Oil surges again as industry faces ‘largest disruption in history of the market’ March 12, 2026 The global energy body has warned the current oil crisis triggered by the war in the Middle East marks the “largest disruption” in history of the commodity’s market. The International Energy Agency (IEA) made a record intervention in the market on Wednesday, with the release of 400m barrels from the strategic reserves. But the move [...]
Global energy body to release 400m oil barrels in emergency boost March 11, 2026 The global energy body has announced it will release a record 400 million barrels from emergency oil reserves in a bid to contain spiking prices. The International Energy Agency’s (IEA) executive director Faith Birol said on Wednesday the market “challenges we are facing are unprecedented in scale”. “IEA member countries have responded with an emergency [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Iran war ‘certainly not good’ for UK economy, says Rachel Reeves March 11, 2026 Welcome back to the City AM liveblog for continued coverage of a frenzied week in global markets. The Chancellor has told the Treasury select committee that the ongoing fallout from the Middle east is “certainly not good for the British economy”. Following the “most intense” day of fighting in the region – and just a [...]
World’s top oil producer warns ‘catastrophic consequences’ after Iran threats March 10, 2026 The world’s top oil producer has warned of “catastrophic consequences” for the commodity’s global market after Iran threatened to block key shipping routes. Saudi Aramco – the state-owned national oil company of Saudi Arabia which controls over 270 billion barrels of reserves – has sounded the alarm that the Iran’s blocking of the Strait of [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Stocks soar and oil dips as Trump says war is ‘very complete’ March 10, 2026 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. It was a day of whiplash for global markets as they kicked off the new week. Stock markets from Europe to Asia and Wall Street sunk into the red on open as the price of oil rose at the fastest rate in six-years. Brent crude, [...]
‘Terrifying’: Iran threatens $200 oil price if US-Israel strikes continue March 9, 2026 A spokesman for the Iranian military has given a chilling warning that the cost of a barrel of oil could rocket to $200 if the war with Israel and the US continues. The price of oil has continued to surge amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, which have triggered strikes on production sites and [...]