Rising oil and gas prices may hit increase of £300 a year for typical working-age households, says leading thinktank
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Conflict in the Middle East could trigger an energy price shock that wipes out anticipated growth in living standards in the UK worth £300 for a typical working-age household over the coming year, a leading thinktank has warned.
The Resolution Foundation said a “decent” one-off increase in average living standards this year and a bumper rise for lower-income households could be reversed by rising oil and gas prices as the Iran conflict disrupts supplies.
The UK’s reliance on gas from the Middle East makes it especially vulnerable to an effective blockade of the strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of the world’s liquid natural gas is transported.
