Closing post
Time to wrap up…
European airports have warned the EU that jet fuel shortages could hit the summer holiday season if oil supplies do not start to flow through the strait of Hormuz within the next three weeks.
Airports Council International (ACI) Europe reportedly wrote to EU transport commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas saying that the bloc is three weeks away from shortages. The letter was first reported by the Financial Times.
The warning will raise concerns of a risk of flight or holiday cancellations if the US and Israel’s war on Iran continues. Oil prices have soared since the start of March after Iran effectively closed the strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route for exports from the Gulf, in retaliation.
Protests over fuel prices have caused chaos in Ireland and spread to Norway in a knock-on effect from the conflict in the Middle East.
Hauliers, farmers and other groups blocked motorways and brought parts of Dublin to a standstill on Friday in a fourth consecutive day of action.
In Ireland the protests have sparked fuel shortages and travel disruption, and in Norway lorry drivers taking part in the “diesel roar” protest descended on the capital. The Irish government put the army on standby to help remove blockades and police warned some protesters to disperse or face arrest, prompting defiance and threats to continue the disruption for weeks if necessary.
Protests were endangering critical supplies of food, fuel, clean water and animal feed, the police force, An Garda Síochána, said in a statement. “This is not tolerable and is against the law.” Government leaders have accused protesters of holding the country to “ransom”.
The blockade of ports and a refinery meant Ireland was on the verge of turning away oil deliveries and losing its supply, the taoiseach, Mícheál Martin, told RTÉ. “It is unconscionable, it’s illogical.”
US inflation soared in March amid the US-Israel war with Iran, with prices up 0.9% compared to last month and 3.3% over the year, according to new data released Friday.
The spike in the consumer price index (CPI), which measures the price of a basket of goods and services, is the largest in nearly two years and the first official measure of how the conflict has impacted US consumer prices, particularly as Iran blocked the strait of Hormuz, where a fifth of the world’s oil and gas would typically pass through.
The index for energy rose 10.9% in March, led by a 21.2% increase in the index for gasoline which accounted for nearly three quarters of the monthly all items increase. Airfares rose 2.7% in March and were 14.9% higher than a year earlier.
Share
Key events
Show key events only
Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature
US stock markets open higher after inflation data
The blue chip S&P 500 index has opened higher in the US, rising slightly by 0.1% after inflation figures came in broadly in line with expectations despite price pressure triggered by the Iran war.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq is also up by about 0.3%, although the Dow Jones Industrial Average has slipped 0.3%.
Share
Bernard Yaros, lead US economist at Oxford Economics, warns that inflation is likely to be “uncomfortably strong” in the US this month.
double quotation markPump prices have continued to rise this month and will deliver another boost to inflation. A statistical quirk associated with the government shutdown will unwind, adding another unusual source of upward pressure to the April CPI. Also, the energy price shock will increasingly bleed into food and other core prices.
Despite the temptation to compare to the last major geopolitical episode, this isn’t 2022. Measures of global supply-chain stress aren’t flashing red, at least for now; the labor market isn’t a source of inflationary pressures; and fiscal support under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act is less skewed toward lower-income households, who have a higher marginal propensity to spend, than the pandemic-era stimulus. Because gasoline consumption is inelastic, households will have to cut back on their other outlays, which will be disinflationary in discretionary price categories.
However, he adds that as long as long-term inflation expectations remain anchored, he expects that the Fed will still cut interest rates later this year to “shore up the labour market in the face of this energy supply shock”.
double quotation markA key wildcard in the outlook for both inflation and monetary policy is the duration and intensity of the Iran war, which still hasn’t been resolved by the tenuous ceasefire.
Share
Energy prices in the US jump 10.9% in March
Energy prices in the US rose by 10.9% in March compared with the prior month, official inflation stats show.
That included a 21% rise in the index for gasoline, which the US Bureau of Labor Statistics said accounted for nearly three-quarters of the overall inflation figure for March.
Richard Carter, head of fixed interest research at Quilter Cheviot, says:
double quotation markEnergy prices unsurprisingly took the top spot in terms of upward pressure, with an overall rise of 10.9% on the month and 12.5% in the 12 months to March.
This includes a 21.2% monthly and 18.9% annual rise in gasoline prices and a huge 30.7% monthly and 44.2% annual rise in fuel oil prices. While oil prices have tumbled since the news of the ceasefire broke, they remain considerably elevated compared to pre-war levels and they’ll likely stay there for some time yet – even if a resolution is found relatively swiftly.
President Trump won’t be best pleased with today’s inflation print and given his heavy criticism of Joe Biden’s handling of inflation during his tenure as President, we can expect him to be rather sensitive to such a significant swing. Trump will be pinning his hopes on the ceasefire holding, as if the peace talks are not productive then there’s a real risk of a further spike.
At last month’s Federal Reserve interest rate decision, Jerome Powell said the central bank would be unlikely to need to raise rates in response given oil price moves and the pressure they can add tends to be temporary. However, the sheer scale of the price shock this time around, alongside the uncertainty over the level of damage done to energy infrastructure and when supply routes will fully reopen, mean the Fed cannot dismiss it entirely.
Nonetheless, a hold is widely expected at its meeting later this month as it continues to sit in ‘wait and see’ mode, but all eyes will be on whether there is any indication of a change in its stance or if it will continue to bide its time.”
Share
US inflation hits 3.3% in March amid Iran war energy shock
Lauren Aratani
US inflation soared in March amid the US-Israel war with Iran, with prices up 0.9% compared to last month and 3.3% over the year, according to new data released Friday.
The spike in the consumer price index (CPI), which measures the price of a basket of goods and services, is the largest in nearly two years and the first official measure of how the conflict has impacted US consumer prices, particularly as Iran blocked the strait of Hormuz, where a fifth of the world’s oil and gas would typically pass through.
The annualised inflation rate has not pushed past 3% since summer 2024, when inflation was finally cooling after reaching a generational high of 9.1% in June 2022.
The war on Iran has driven the American economy into deeper uncertainty, adding to a precariousness that first came with Donald Trump’s tariffs last year. Inflation reached a four-year low last April, when price increases dropped to 2.3%. It rose to 3% by September, before coming back down to 2.4% in January and February.
Share
European airports face jet fuel shortages within three weeks – reports
Jasper JollyAn aircraft EI-IJH Boeing 737 MAX 8-200 of Ryanair takes off at the Riga International Airport (RIX), in Riga, Latvia, 23 March 2026 Photograph: Toms Kalniņš/EPA
European airports have warned the EU that jet fuel shortages could hit the summer holiday season if oil supplies do not start to flow through the strait of Hormuz within the next three weeks.
Airports Council International (ACI) Europe reportedly wrote to EU transport commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas saying that the bloc is three weeks away from shortages. The letter was first reported by the Financial Times.
The warning will raise concerns of a risk of flight or holiday cancellations if the US and Israel’s war on Iran continues. Oil prices have soared since the start of March after Iran effectively closed the strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route for exports from the Gulf, in retaliation.
Donald Trump this week announced a ceasefire, but Brent crude oil prices remained at around $96 per barrel on Friday amid concerns over whether it would hold.
The letter said, according to the Financial Times:
double quotation markIf the passage through the strait of Hormuz does not resume in any significant and stable way within the next three weeks, systemic jet fuel shortage is set to become a reality for the EU.
Jet fuel prices have soared since the end of February after the attacks on Iran ordered by Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Global jet fuel prices at the end of last week had more than doubled compared to last year to $1,650 per tonne, according to figures tracked by Iata, an airline lobby group.
The worst hit region for price increases has been Asia, with prices up 163% year-on-year. However, prices in Europe were still up by 138%, amid a global scramble to secure fuel.
Share
Updated at 08.33 EDT
Miranda Bryant
In Norway, which has seen record month-on-month fuel price rises as a result of the war in Iran, a convoy of lorries drove in protest to the Norwegian parliament in Oslo.
Around 70-80 lorries, some bearing “nok er nok!” (“enough is enough!”) banners, joined Dieselbrølet (the diesel roar) on Friday calling for action on the issue. But only a handful of them were allowed to drive into the capital.
The Norwegian government cut fuel taxes on 1 April, but lorry drivers say they need more predictable and lower prices.
Despite being an oil producing nation, global markets mean that Norway has seen a sharp rise in fuel prices since the start of the war in Iran. Statistics Norway said the price of fuel and lubricants rose by 17.9% from February to March, with diesel prices in that period soaring by 23.6%.
Meanwhile, in Denmark, the far-right Danish People’s Party tried to use discontent over high fuel prices to win over voters in the recent election by paying for their petrol on election day.
Share
Fuel protests spread across Europe as prices rise
It’s not just in Ireland – protests are starting to spread in other parts of Europe as the conflict in the Middle East drives up the price of fuel.
In Norway, truck and tractor drivers are on their way to Oslo to protest the spike in fuel prices. The protest, called “Dieselbrølet”, or “the diesel roar”, is headed to the Norwegian parliament.
In France, the government has stepped in to prevent widespread shortages by allowing fuel tankers to circulate on weekends and public holidays until 11 May.
The French government said in a statement to Le Parisien that the measure was due to “the essential nature for the national economy of ensuring the continuity of hydrocarbon distribution in service stations” and “the need to prevent any risk of disruption to fuel supplies to service stations in the context of the armed conflict in the Middle East “.
And closer to home, farmers in England who claim their fuel bills have doubled since the start of the war in Iran have called on the government for more support.
Ashley Jones, a farmer and chairman of Cornwall National Farmers’ Union (NFU), told the BBC that “stressed and worried” colleagues had been calling him daily about their reliance on fuel for running equipment.
He said if fuel prices remained high, it will be difficult for farmers to plant crops in the autumn because of uncertainty around costs.
Jones told the BBC:
double quotation markWe’re so heavily reliant on fuel to do our day-to-day jobs, whether it’s looking after animals or looking after the crops; we can’t be without it.”
He told the broadcaster that farmers need 250 to 300 litres (55 to 65 gallons) of fuel a day for each tractor. That cost £200 before the war, and now is nearly £400, he said.
Share
Fears of fuel shortages in Ireland as army called in to tackle blockages
People with their luggage walk past the heavy traffic on Dublin’s M50 Northbound, due to vehicles taking part on the third day of a National Fuel Protest against rising fuel prices, Thursday April 9, 2026 Photograph: Brian Lawless/PA
In Ireland, fears are growing over fuel shortages as the army is called in to tackle blockades.
Protests over high fuel prices are now in their fourth day, with slow-moving convoys restricting access to some of the busiest roads in Dublin and blocking fuel depots.
Some protesters have slept in their vehicles overnight, according to reports.
It comes after the war in Iran has driven up the price of petrol – with filling stations in Ireland selling petrol for around €1.94per litre. Diesel is available for around €2.19.
The broadcaster RTE is reporting that more than 100 service stations have now run out of fuel and the number could be five times as many by Friday evening if supplies remain disrupted.
The Irish government is expected to meet with farmers, truckers and agricultural contractors today to discuss the crisis, according to Reuters – although it is unclear whether the protest organisers, who have said they will call off the blockade if the government agrees to talk with them – will be included in the talks.
But Irish justice minister Jim O’Callaghan claimed on Thursday that protesters are being “manipulated” by “outside actors” who want to advance their own political measures or “really want to damage our country”.
Share
Dolce & Gabbana co-founder Stefano Gabbana quits as chair
Chloe Mac DonnellA Dolce & Gabbana store in Manhattan, New York City Photograph: Jimin Kim/SOPA Images/Shutterstock
Stefano Gabbana left his post as chair of Dolce & Gabbana at the start of this year, the design house he co-founded with his then partner, Domenico Dolce, in 1985 has said.
The Italian luxury fashion house said Gabbana had tendered his resignation, effective as of 1 January, “as part of a natural evolution of its organisational structure and governance”.
It added:
double quotation markThese resignations have no impact whatsoever on the creative activities carried out by Stefano Gabbana on behalf of the group.”
Alfonso Dolce, Domenico’s brother and the current D&G chief executive, took over the role in January, according to Bloomberg, which first reported Gabbana’s resignation.
The designer is also said to be considering options for his 40% stake in the company ahead of negotiations with its bank lenders, with the former Gucci CEO Stefano Cantino taking on a top management role as part of the reshuffle.
Share
Markets are muted this morning, but the mood is likely to pick up this afternoon when the latest US inflation reading lands.
The figures are expected to capture the impact of the conflict in the Middle East on the cost of living in the US.
Economists at State Street, which has its own measure of inflation ‘PriceStats’, found that it rose by 1.5% in March compared with the prior month – its biggest monthly increase since at least July 2008. It compares with a monthly rate of 0.4% in February.
Michael Metcalfe, head of macro strategy at State Street Markets, said:
double quotation markUS inflation jumped sharply in March, marking the biggest month-on-month increase in prices since at least 2008, when our PriceStats data series began.
…This means that in just one month, the inflation picture has shifted materially. The disinflation trend seen later in 2025 has faded, and expectations for a lower inflation rate in 2026 are being reassessed even before official March data are published.
What happens next will depend in large part on energy prices and how quickly those costs feed through to everyday items. Early PriceStats sector data for March point to above-average monthly increases in areas such as recreation, electronics and apparel. For now, energy is driving both the headline numbers and the uncertainty about the next move from markets and central banks.
The official US inflation data will land at 1.30pm BST.
Share
