Iran Conflict Pushes UK Energy Prices to Four-Year High

Households in the UK are bracing for potentially higher energy bills as gas prices soar to their highest level since December 2022. The price of Brent crude oil also jumped by nearly 3% to around $100.50 a barrel, its highest point in over four months.

The surge in energy costs is largely attributed to the ongoing conflict between the US and Iran, which has led to attacks on Iranian oil tankers and concerns about further disruptions to supply. As a result, UK natural gas prices rose by around 3% to approximately 195p per therm, with experts warning that this could feed through into consumer energy bills in the winter.

Ofgem's energy price cap is set to rise by 4% in October, and analysts are predicting an even bigger hike of up to 13% in January. Those who use heating oil or are on heat networks but not covered by the price cap may see increases sooner.