Starmer calls emergency meeting on UK economy; IEA open to releasing more oil stocks

Starmer calls emergency meeting on UK economy as risks from war mount
British prime minister Keir Starmer is set to chair an emergency meeting on the economic fallout from the war in Iran on Monday , with chancellor of the exchequer Rachel Reeves and Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey also attending, the UK government has said.

Financial markets face another turbulent week after Iran said it would strike its Gulf neighbours’ energy and water systems if Donald Trump followed through on his threat to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants if it doesn’t fully open up the crucial strait of Hormuz.

The UK is watching with particular unease, Reuters reports.

The country’s heavy dependence on imported natural gas, persistently high inflation and stretched public finances have pushed its government bonds into a far steeper decline than those of international peers.

Britain’s finance ministry said before the so-called “Cobra” meeting:
double quotation mark Topics expected to be covered are the economic impact of the crisis on families and businesses, energy security and the resilience of industry and supply chains alongside the international response.

Foreign secretary Yvette Cooper and energy secretary Ed Miliband will also attend.

Reeves has said it is too soon to say what the impact of the war will be for Britain’s economy and has resisted calls for sweeping cost-of-living measures for households, saying instead that more targeted support is under consideration.

The energy price shock threatens to push Britain’s inflation rate back up – possibly to 5% later this year, according to some economists – and deal another setback to the slow-growth economy.