Iran war casts pall over UK economic update

LONDON: (Mar 3)  With oil prices soaring and stocks tanking, the fast-evolving Iran war has cast a pall over the economic forecasts that British Treasury chief Rachel Reeves is set to unveil on Tuesday.

Reeves had hoped her statement to the House of Commons would be a relatively low-key affair, with the forecasts showing the key economic numbers broadly heading in the right direction.

However, economists are warning that the Iran war could upend the forecasts within her Spring Statement, depressing growth, stoking inflation and increasing debt. Perhaps most significantly, the price of Brent international oil standard has spiked by more than 15 per cent this week to over USD 80 a barrel, which if sustained would certainly lead to higher energy bills and inflation and keep a lid on growth.