#middle-east-conflict

#middle-east-conflict

Following reports of U.S. Navy strikes against targets in Iran, bitcoin dropped nearly $800 in over three hours on Monday night, slipping below $77,000 and wiping out roughly $20 billion in market capitalization. Late on Monday, bitcoin fell nearly $800 below $77,000 following reports of U.S. Navy military strikes in Iran. Brent crude spiked near $99 as maritime clashes disrupted energy markets and dented crypto capitalization.

"There will be lots of upsides in those numbers if the Strait of Hormuz reopens and oil prices settle back," said Mr O'Leary. Oil prices fell 5pc as hopes were raised of progress following the US attack on Iran. Shares in IAG, the group that owns Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia and Vueling, were 3.8pc higher near the close of the market in Madrid.

Iran's sports minister Ahmad Donyamali, also confirmed that world football's governing body has stressed that the Iran squad will be given visas to play in the US this summer "The Fifa president promised us that all our players would receive visas. There is no reason why our players should not receive visas," he said. The Iranian FA (FFIRI) had presented Fifa with a list of 10 conditions for their participation at the World Cup, including allowing players, coaches and officials who have completed military service with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to receive visas.

Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodriguez is expected to travel to India next week to discuss oil sales, United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. At an estimated 303 billion barrels of oil — about 17 percent of known global oil resources — the South American nation holds the world's largest reserves, larger even than those held by Saudi Arabia and the US, though years of US sanctions and government mismanagement had crippled production in Venezuela.

The government is determined to keep costs down for motorists paying more because of the war in Iran. That's why we've extended the 5p fuel duty cut twice, until September. While the chancellor will continue to monitor the situation, as the chancellor has set out, a rapid de-escalation in the Middle East remains the best way to keep pump prices low.

India's state-run fuel retailers raised the prices of petrol and diesel on Friday the first time since the war in Iran began as they look to recoup some of the losses incurred over rising global crude prices. Indian Oil Corporation, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) raised fuel prices by Rs 3 per litre ($0.03, 0.27), or more than 3%. With this, diesel will cost Rs 90.67 a litre ($0.95, 0.81) and petrol will cost Rs 97.77 a litre ($1.02, 0.88).

The Pentagon has released a new price tag for the US-Israel war with Iran, saying it has cost the United States $29bn. The department's comptroller revealed the new total during a Senate committee hearing on Tuesday alongside Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth. The estimate is an increase from the $25bn the official, Jules Hurst, reported to members of Congress in late April, the first time the administration of US President Donald Trump had given an official figure.

The Red Sea cuts spurred companies and governments to look for alternate routes, and the Strait of Hormuz seemed promising. Then the US and Israel attacked Iran, cable projects were halted, and now the world is looking elsewhere once again.

On 4 November, a student demonstration outside the US embassy in Tehran erupted into an all-out assault on the compound, and 66 Americans were taken hostage. It was the culmination of decades of tension, beginning with the US and Britain's role in installing the Shah of Iran to safeguard energy interests, and ending with a popular uprising that toppled his oppressive regime and drove him into exile.

Households cut back on their spending in April at the fastest pace in 18 months, as the conflict in the Middle East provoked fears of another cost of living crisis, a report from one of the UK's biggest banks has suggested. Barclays, which processes nearly 40% of the UK's credit and debit card transactions, said its data showed there had been a 0.1% fall in card spending last month compared with a year earlier. This was the first year-on-year fall since November 2024.

Heathrow's passenger numbers dipped by 5.3% last month, with the airport's chief executive citing the conflict in the Middle East as the main reason. The west London airport said about 6.7 million passengers travelled through Heathrow in April, compared with 7.1 million during the same month last year. Heathrow said the decline reflected "the ongoing impact of the Middle East conflict on some markets and shortterm adjustments to travel plans".

About 6.7 million people flew through the airport in April, a 5% drop compared with the same period last year. The fall reflected the impact from the Iran conflict and short-term adjustments to travel plans, the airport said. However, the number of transfer passengers transiting for onward flights rose 10% in April year-on-year, as travellers rerouting to Asia and Oceania switched to the Heathrow instead of using rival hubs in the Gulf such as Dubai and Doha.

The conflict in the Middle East itself might be teetering on a tentative ceasefire, but higher gasoline prices are likely here to stay. The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline on Friday was $4.54, according to AAA, up from around $3 before the war, and the most expensive gas has been since the Ukraine War's early days in mid-2022.