Brits told to WFH and use ovens less as Middle East energy crisis explodes… and Rachel Reeves ‘can’t help because she’s maxxed out Britain’s credit card’

Today, as the crisis in the Middle East deepens, Brits are being urged to work from home and use ovens less.

Adding to growing concerns about global supply chains, the international energy watchdog has recommended reducing car use and cooking with deep fryers.

This harsh message comes as households begin to feel the ‘Trumpflation’ effect of the Iran war as oil and gas prices soar.

Fears of a new wave of inflation today have pushed the UK Government’s borrowing costs to the highest levels since 2008, at the peak of the credit crisis misery.

This has raised doubts about whether Rachel Reeves will be able to find the money to help families cope with the coming pain, as it will after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Conservatives accused Chancellor of ‘maxing out the nation’s credit card’ with ‘runaway welfare spending’; figures showed public sector borrowing in February was the highest on record outside of Covid.

Downing Street emphasized that the IEA’s advice was not official in the UK and said people should behave ‘normally’.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: ‘This is the IEA’s general advice to countries around the world. Not available in the UK.

‘We have a diverse and resilient resource. ‘People in the UK should continue to go about their days as normal.’

Other developments and turns today:

• Iran’s foreign minister says aiding US-Israeli attacks is seen as ‘aggression’, raising concerns about direct reprisals against Britain;
• Interest rates on “gilts”, the government’s main means of borrowing, have risen to nearly 5 percent as investors price in more risk to public finances;
• Even before the start of the Iran war, 88 per cent of Britons saw the cost of living as one of the biggest challenges facing the country, according to a major poll.

Rachel Reeves faces doubts over whether she can afford to help Brits with ‘Trumpflation’ after government’s dire finance figures today

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch warned Ms Reeves was ‘maxing out her credit card limit’ with ‘welfare spending’ and leaving families at the mercy of global shockwaves

One fifth of the global oil supply is transported through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has effectively closed since the beginning of the war.

This pushed oil prices steadily higher before rising sharply to around $118 on Thursday after Iran threatened a ‘wide-scale economic war’ before striking Qatar’s main liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility, which suffered ‘extensive collateral damage’.

Attacks on gas facilities will take three to five years to repair, QatarEnergy’s chief executive said.

Motorists are already feeling the effects at the pumps across the UK and experts predict energy bills could rise by more than a fifth when the cap changes in July.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) emphasized that member states have already agreed to extract 400 million barrels of oil from reserves to support supply.

But he warned that “supply-side measures alone will not fully offset the extent of the disruption.”

‘Meeting demand is a critical and urgent tool to reduce pressure on consumers by increasing affordability and supporting energy security,’ the organization said.

He urged people to take precautions such as carpooling and avoiding air travel.

The IEA said this would help alleviate ‘the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market’.

The proposals focus primarily on road transportation, which accounts for about 45 percent of global oil demand.

The energy agency said working from home and reducing motorway speed limits by at least 10 kilometers per hour would reduce fuel consumption.

It also suggested ways to reduce gas use, including ‘promoting electric cooking and other modern options’.

The Bank of England yesterday warned that the growing conflict in the Middle East could spiral inflation and trigger rising unemployment, and that any ‘long-lasting’ shock could force interest rates to rise.

Markets are betting on three quarter-point key rate rises that would add around £100 a month to a £250,000 mortgage repayment.

After interest rates were frozen at 3.75 per cent, BoE Governor Andrew Bailey said: ‘The war in the Middle East has increased global energy prices. ‘You can already see this at the petrol pump and if this continues it will lead to higher household bills.’

Many of the cheapest mortgage deals have been withdrawn in recent days. Most energy deals offering rates below the ceiling price were also canceled last night.

Analysts were predicting two more rate cuts this year, but These expectations have been reversed, with experts warning the world faces crippling ‘Trumpflation’.

Travelers face price rises and cancellations in the summer as global jet fuel shortages begin to bite, aviation chiefs have warned.

Donald Trump gave conflicting signals about how long the war with Iran will last