Category: Commodities
Helium: the invisible gas that powers AI, and why it’s in short supply – podcast
Alongside the oil and gas stranded in the strait of Hormuz is another commodity vital to today’s economy: helium. It is a critical element in all kinds of areas from MRI machines to the Large Hadron Collider, and even...
Read MoreNew North Sea drilling would barely reduce UK gas imports at all, data shows
Exclusive: research finds Jackdaw field would provide only about 2% of current demand, and Rosebank only 1%Opening major new fields in the North Sea would make almost no difference to the UK’s reliance on gas imports,...
Read More‘Food security timebomb’: a visual guide to the Gulf fertiliser blockade
UN says record numbers of people could face acute hunger if conflict continuesThe world has become well versed in the importance of the strait of Hormuz to the world’s energy flows, but attention is increasingly turning to...
Read MoreWould more North Sea drilling mean lower energy prices for UK consumers?
Kemi Badenoch claims increased UK oil and gas production would cut bills by £200, but critics say plan won’t workOil prices hit $100 a barrel soon after the US and Israel launched their attack on Iran, and though...
Read MoreUK offers to host international security summit on reopening strait of Hormuz
Defence chiefs have been discussing how to unblock the conduit for about a fifth of the world’s oil suppliesThe UK has offered to host an international security summit to draw up a “viable, collective plan” to...
Read More‘The stakes are enormous’: how a prolonged Iran war could shock the global economy
Donald Trump’s ‘little excursion’ is likely to have long-term effects, from oil prices to inflation to growth, say expertsIn the days after the US and Israel first bombed Iran, financial markets bet the...
Read MoreUK economy unexpectedly flatlined in January, official figures show
Monthly GDP figure comes as higher energy prices look likely to drive up inflation, dashing hopes of interest rate cutBusiness live – latest updatesThe UK economy entered the Middle East crisis after a weak start to the...
Read More‘Everyone feels like they are being scammed’: can Central America’s small coffee growers survive as global prices fall?
Family-run farms in El Salvador and Honduras face mounting losses, rising costs – and the need to adapt or be left behindRead more of our Coffee crisis series hereOn a steep hillside in western El Salvador, Oscar Leiva...
Read MoreHow the Iran conflict could affect prices around the world – video explainer
Oil markets have had some of the steepest price rises ever recorded as conflict in the Middle East escalated over the last week. Although the world is slowly becoming greener, fossil fuels are still the lifeblood of every...
Read MoreStarmer warns of bigger impact on economy the longer Iran war continues – as it happened
The prime minister is facing pressure from unions and some backbenchers to prepare a support package as oil and gas prices threaten to push up inflationAs we mentioned in the opening post, the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has a...
Read MoreIs the UK government prepared for oil price hikes? – podcast
Oil prices have already shot up thanks to the US-Israeli war in Iran. But what is the economic fallout likely to be? Will interest rates rise? What about inflation? Could the cost of borrowing increase – and by how much?...
Read MoreLengthy US-Iran war would affect ‘lives and households of everybody’, says Starmer
Ministers understood to be considering ways to mitigate rising energy bills as oil prices surpass $100 a barrelMiddle East crisis – live updatesUK politics live – latest updatesKeir Starmer has said that a long-term...
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