Evening Briefing: Saturday 18 July 2026
- Petrol & Energy: Brent crude settled near $88 a barrel — a one-month high, up more than 14 per cent on the week — as the US–Iran war choked the Strait of Hormuz. Forecourt prices and the wholesale gas price that sets energy bills are directly exposed, and a fresh sustained closure of the strait would push both higher.
- A New Prime Minister on Monday: Andy Burnham enters Downing Street on Monday signalling a change of direction — a cost-of-living package that would cut VAT on energy and make heat pumps cheaper, a shift towards new North Sea drilling, and greater public control of utilities such as Thames Water, with Shabana Mahmood tipped as Chancellor. Expect tax and spending decisions in the autumn.
- Savings & Markets: The ten-year gilt yield sits near 4.97 per cent and a safe-haven bid lifted gold on Friday, but a prolonged war-driven oil shock is the main threat to the inflation the incoming government has promised to bring down.
Two US Troops Killed as Iranian Missiles Strike Jordan Base
Two American service members were killed and one remains missing after an Iranian ballistic missile and drone attack on the Muwaffaq Salti airbase at Azraq in Jordan late on Friday, US Central Command said. Four others were taken to hospit…
Iran Strikes Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia in Widening Barrage
Iran launched attacks across the Gulf on Saturday, striking a Kuwaiti power and desalination plant and an oil facility, hitting Bahrain’s Sheikh Isa airbase, and firing a ballistic missile at a US base at al-Kharj near Riyadh — its first s…
Oil Jumps to a One-Month High as West Demands Strait Reopened
Oil prices climbed more than four per cent to their highest in over a month as Iran and the United States traded strikes on energy and shipping infrastructure, with Brent settling around $88 a barrel. Washington reimposed a naval blockade…
Ukrainian Drones Cripple Russia’s Largest Retailer’s Warehouses
Ukrainian long-range drones struck two vast logistics hubs of Wildberries, Russia’s largest online retailer, near Moscow and in Tambov overnight, causing fires and losses estimated at up to 100 billion roubles, around $1.3bn. Russian gover…
Lebanon’s President Heads to the White House Over Israeli Withdrawal
The Lebanese President, Joseph Aoun, departed for Washington to meet President Trump, the first visit by a Lebanese head of state since 2009. Mr Aoun will press for American guarantees on an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, reinfo…
Mahmood Favourite for Chancellor as Burnham Finalises His Team
The Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has become the frontrunner to replace Rachel Reeves as Chancellor when Andy Burnham names his Cabinet on Monday, after his inner circle objected to the early favourite, Ed Miliband, now tipped for the F…
Burnham Plans New North Sea Drilling in Break With Manifesto
Andy Burnham will announce plans for new North Sea oil and gas drilling once in office, a shift from Labour’s 2024 manifesto pledge to issue no new licences. Green figures and campaigners rounded on him within hours, while industry and uni…
Burnham Lines Up a Cost-of-Living Package to Cut Energy Bills
Andy Burnham is preparing a cost-of-living package as one of his first acts as Prime Minister, reportedly including making heat pumps cheaper than gas boilers and cutting VAT on domestic energy. Aides say he intends a “dynamic start”, with…
Labour Pulls Level With Reform in the Final Starmer-Era Poll
Labour has drawn level with Reform UK on 24 per cent each, up five points and its biggest single jump since the 2024 election, in Survation’s last poll of Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership. Reform fell three points to 24 per cent, its lowest i…
Thames Water Awaits Burnham as First Public-Ownership Test
Debt-laden Thames Water, around £20bn in the red and serving 16 million customers, is shaping up as the earliest test of Mr Burnham’s pledge for “greater public control” of essential services. He has said there is a strong case for public…