Morning Briefing: Thursday 23 July 2026
- Petrol & Bills: Oil has surged above $95 a barrel — a six-week high — as the Gulf war chokes shipping, threatening to push petrol and diesel prices back up just as UK inflation had eased to a 15-month low of 2.6 per cent. Forecourt costs could rise within weeks.
- Your Water: Around 23 million people in England are now under hosepipe bans after Thames Water restricted its ten million customers, following the driest spring on record. Expect tighter curbs on watering gardens and washing cars as reservoirs run low.
- Mortgages & Savings: UK borrowing costs remain the highest in the G7, with ten-year gilt yields near 5 per cent and the pound below $1.34, as markets question how the government’s giveaways will be funded. The Bank of England is expected to hold rates on 30 July.
US Bombs Iran for a Twelfth Night as Oil Spikes Anew
American forces struck Iran for a twelfth consecutive night, US Central Command said, hitting “maritime capabilities, missile and drone storage facilities, coastal surveillance sites and air-defence assets”. Explosions were reported across…
Oil Tops $95 as a Saudi Tanker Burns in the Red Sea
Brent crude pushed above $95 a barrel, a six-week high and a near-$20 rise since fighting resumed on 7 July, after fresh attacks on Gulf shipping. Yemen’s Houthis said they had struck two oil tankers; the Saudi-linked Encelia was hit and c…
Trump Threatens Iran’s ‘Pickaxe Mountain’ as Tehran Denies Nuclear Work
President Trump has warned that the United States will strike a fortified site south of Natanz known as “Pickaxe Mountain”, which Western intelligence believes shelters Iran’s centrifuge programme. Tehran on Wednesday denied conducting any…
Zelensky Sacks His Army Chief After Days of Kyiv Protests
President Zelensky has dismissed his commander-in-chief, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, and named the ground-forces commander, Major-General Mykhailo Drapatyi, to lead Ukraine’s army. The move follows nearly a week of protests in Kyiv, sparked…
Wildfires Rage Across Spain and France Amid Another Heatwave
Spain, France and Italy are battling fierce wildfires as a third heatwave of the summer pushes temperatures towards 44C. A blaze in Spain’s Guadalajara region has consumed some 32,000 hectares, one of the country’s largest on record, while…
Burnham Weighs North Sea Drilling in a Manifesto Reckoning
Andy Burnham’s government is weighing approval for drilling at the Rosebank and Jackdaw fields, a move campaigners say would shatter Labour’s 2024 manifesto pledge to issue no new oil and gas licences. Both fields already hold consents gra…
UK Borrowing Costs Stay Highest in the G7 as Sterling Slips
British government borrowing costs remain the dearest in the G7, with the ten-year gilt yield holding near 5.07 per cent, its highest since May, as investors weigh Mr Burnham’s spending pledges against his talk of fiscal “flexibility”. Ste…
Burnham Governs as Preferred PM but Faces a Sceptical Public
Andy Burnham enters Downing Street as the public’s clear choice for prime minister but with doubts over his readiness, polling suggests. Ipsos found three in ten Britons named him their preferred premier, on 30 per cent, well ahead of Refo…
Millions More Face Hosepipe Bans as England Dries Out
Around 23 million people in England are now under hosepipe bans after Thames Water became the latest supplier to restrict its ten million customers. The curbs follow the driest spring on record for England and Wales and three successive he…
Oil’s Surge Threatens to Undo Britain’s Inflation Relief
The jump in crude prices driven by the Gulf war threatens to reverse the fall in British inflation that has buoyed Mr Burnham’s opening days. Brent’s climb above $95 a barrel feeds quickly into petrol and diesel, the very costs that pushed…