Evening Briefing: Thursday 23 July 2026
- Petrol & Bills: Oil has broken $100 a barrel for the first time since May, driving petrol up around 5p to 155.6p a litre and diesel up 8p, according to the RAC. Pump and energy costs look set to rise further, threatening the recent fall in inflation.
- Savings & Mortgages: UK borrowing costs hit a two-month high, with thirty-year gilt yields near 5.75 per cent, even as the Chancellor pledged fiscal discipline. Higher yields feed through to mortgage and loan rates. The Bank of England decides on rates on 30 July.
- NHS & Appointments: Resident doctors will strike for five days from 25 July, risking cancellations of operations and appointments even as waiting lists fall to a two-year low. Check before travelling for planned hospital care.
Trump Threatens a ‘Massive’ Strike on Iran as Oil Tops $100
President Trump has threatened “major military punishment” against Iran and told Axios he is weighing “a massive attack… bigger than ever before”, after Yemen’s Houthis struck a second Saudi oil tanker in the Red Sea. Brent crude vaulted a…
US Presses Its Strikes as Iran Claims Hits on Gulf Bases
American forces pressed on with their bombing of Iran, with US Central Command reporting fresh strikes on “maritime capabilities, missile and drone storage facilities, coastal surveillance sites and air-defence assets”. Two people were kil…
Rubio and Lavrov Meet in Manila to Test Ukraine Peace Hopes
The US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, met Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, on the sidelines of an Asean gathering in Manila for just over half an hour, though the encounter produced no breakthrough. Mr Rubio said Washington was…
Two Firefighters Die as Wildfires Sweep Southern Europe
Two firefighters have been killed battling a wildfire near Bordeaux in south-western France, where more than 10,000 holidaymakers were evacuated from campsites, as an intense heatwave drives temperatures above 40C across the Mediterranean.…
Saudi Arabia Halts Some Red Sea Oil as the Blockade Bites
Saudi Arabia has suspended some of its Red Sea oil shipments after Houthi attacks on two of its tankers, with at least five vessels reversing course, deepening the disruption to global energy trade. The Iran-aligned Houthis have declared a…
Healey Vows a ‘Fiscal Buffer’ as Gilt Yields Hit a Two-Month High
The Chancellor, John Healey, has used his first big set-piece in the City to pledge disciplined public finances, telling executives at Bloomberg’s London headquarters that he would meet the government’s fiscal rules “with a buffer against…
Oil at $100 Sends the FTSE Lower and Rattles Global Markets
London’s FTSE 100 fell 78 points, or 0.7 per cent, to close at 10,639, retreating from a five-month high as oil’s surge above $100 a barrel stoked fears of renewed inflation. The sell-off was sharper on Wall Street, where the S&P 500 dropp…
Pump Prices Jump as $100 Oil Squeezes Burnham’s Cost-of-Living Plan
The surge in oil has begun to bite at the forecourt, with petrol rising around 5p to 155.6p a litre and diesel up 8p to 172.1p, according to the RAC, threatening the centrepiece of Andy Burnham’s cost-of-living agenda. The RAC’s Simon Will…
Resident Doctors to Strike for Five Days as Waiting Lists Fall
Tens of thousands of resident doctors in England will stage a five-day strike from 25 July after rejecting the government’s pay offer, the British Medical Association has confirmed. The walkout, over a demand to restore pay eroded since 20…
Heat Alerts and Hosepipe Bans Widen as the Summer Bakes On
A fresh Thames Water hosepipe ban took effect across London on Thursday, extending restrictions that now cover more than 23 million people, as amber heat-health alerts remained in force across much of England. This year has become the firs…