How well-placed is the UK economy to withstand the Iran war?published at 14:31 BST
Dearbail Jordan
Senior business and economics reporter
Is the UK “well-placed” to weather the Iran war, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer suggests?
Let’s have a look at some key economic figures to see just how storm-proof we really are.
Before we get to all that, bear in mind that none of the most up-to-date official data we have includes the period covering the conflict, which began on 28 February.
So, first things first, the British economy. Between October and December last year, the UK expanded by just 0.1%, according to the Office for National Statistics.
In January, there was 0% growth.
How about inflation? In the year to February, the pace of price rises held steady at 3%, close to the Bank of England’s 2% target.
The Bank had expected inflation to fall back to its target in spring. Now, it stands ready to lift interest rates if an energy shock sends inflation sharply higher.
What does the jobs market look like? Well, the unemployment rate was 5.2% between November and January – that’s a five-year high.
It will still be some time before we get a proper readout of how the UK economy has responded to the Iran war.
