Express. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express. News Politics Royal Showbiz & TV Sport Finance Travel Life & Style Shopping Premium Articles UK Royal Weather Politics Defence World US Science History Weird Nature InYourArea Oil prices have risen sharply as Brent crude jumps above $100 amid the Iran and US war. 13:33, Tue, Mar 24, 2026 Updated: 13:56, Tue, Mar 24, 2026
Trump’s war has sparked an oil price surge (Image: Getty)
Oil prices are rising again as Brent crude jumps above the $100 mark once more amid the US-Iran war. On Tuesday, the price of Brent climbed 4% to $104 (£77.57) a barrel before dropping back down to around $102 (£76.15). The average petrol price shot up to 144.16p per litre on Monday, from 131.71p recorded before the US launched strikes on Iran.
As a result, it now costs £14.63 more to fill up a 55-litre family diesel car, with this number expected to go up again. Market analysts are warning that the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz – through which roughly a fifth of global oil supplies pass – could trigger an unprecedented spike if disruption continues.
THIS LIVE BLOG IS NOW CLOSED. READ OUR COVERAGE BELOW…
2 hours ago13:33 Rebecca Robinson
Reeves urged to remove VAT on heating oil The Liberal Democrats have urged the Chancellor to remove VAT on heating oil and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
In the Commons, the party’s Treasury spokeswoman Daisy Cooper said: “Families are fearful, will the Chancellor consider zero-rating VAT on heating oil and LPG?
“Will she consider introducing a price cap mechanism for off-grid fuels? Will she commit to halving energy bills over the next decade by reforming pricing structures?
“And if bills rise to more than £400 a year, as some are warning, will the Chancellor commit to coming back to this House and outlining a broader support package so that all struggling households, or many struggling households, don’t face a crippling hit of that scale?”
The Chancellor has been urged to cut VAT. (Image: Getty)
2 hours ago13:25 Rebecca Robinson
Government slammed for ‘utterly misguided’ approach to oil Shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride has said the UK economy is “in tatters” and that Chancellor Rachel Reeves has brought it “one step from its knees”.
He told MPs: “Under this Government, we are getting poorer and our economy is increasingly fragile and far from secure and resilient. Nothing exemplifies this Government’s economic folly more than its approach to oil and gas.
“The utterly misguided net zero obsessions of the energy secretary have led to the absurdity of reduced extraction, whilst we see jobs destroyed, tax revenues foregone, and energy security smashed.”
2 hours ago13:14 Rebecca Robinson
Reeves announces crackdown on price gouging The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will have the power to “crack down on price gouging”, Rachel Reeves said.
She told the Commons: “Today, I can announce that we are going further to make sure that the Competition and Markets Authority have the powers that they need, that were denied to them by the previous government, to detect and to crack down on price gouging, bringing in a new anti-profiteering framework and considering time-limited, targeted powers for the CMA and other regulators.”
She added that the CMA is already working with the Government to monitor the cost of household essentials for both price rises and disruption, and the authority has launched a market study into heating oil.
The Chancellor announces new measures. (Image: Getty)
2 hours ago12:47 Rebecca Robinson
Brits ‘will really be hammered’ by petrol prices Sir Ed Davey raised concerns that the energy bill support being considered by the Government will not include people on middle incomes who are being “hammered” by price rises.
He told the Press Association: “There definitely needs to be something targeted because there are people who are really struggling already with energy bills, let alone before these rises caused by Trump’s illegal war.
“But I am worried that the Government isn’t thinking about people on middle incomes and modest incomes, for whom a £500 rise in energy bills – which is what’s being talked about – on top of the rise in mortgage costs, on top of the rise in petrol and diesel prices, on top of the cost-of-living crisis that was already there, those people will really be hammered.”
3 hours ago12:32 Rebecca Robinson
Chancellor to announce measures against oil price hikes Rachel Reeves is set to deliver plans to protect against unfair oil and fuel prices.
The Chancellor will make a statement to MPs after laying out the ideas to Sir Keir Starmer and colleagues in an emergency Cobra meeting on Monday.
She’s expected to launch an “anti-profiteering framework” to detect and crack down on companies exploiting the Middle East crisis and help the Competition and Markets Authority root out price gouging.
Reeves laid out the plans in a Cobra meeting. (Image: Getty)
3 hours ago12:28 Rebecca Robinson
Advice for fuelling up amid increased costs Motorists have been urged against driving slower and buying fuel differently in the face of rising costs.
Energy minister Michael Shanks told drivers to “go about their business as normal” as there aren’t any shortages of petrol or diesel.
He told Times Radio: “They should do everything as absolutely normal because there is no shortage of fuel anywhere in the country at the moment.
“We monitor this every single day, I look at the numbers personally. There’s no issue at all with that. People should go about their business as normal. That’s what the RAC and the AA have said. It’s really important people do that.
“There’s no shortage of fuel and everything is working as normal… Look genuinely, people shouldn’t change their behaviour or their habits in the slightest.”
3 hours ago12:25 Rebecca Robinson
‘Let’s drill our own oil’, says Badenoch Kemi Badenoch has said scrapping taxes on energy bills would be “much better” than offering targeted support against an expected hike in costs.
Asked whether targeted support would be fair, the Tory leader told the Press Association: “Well, what we see with targeted support is taxes on other people to pay for support to others. This is Labour’s playbook.
“They keep raising taxes on everyone else to give benefits. There is a much better thing that they could do, which is to scrap the taxes on household energy bills.
“These are the green taxes which Ed Miliband put on all our energy bills, both households and business and industry.
“The other thing she could do is scrap her planned rise on fuel duty, which is coming in in a few months.
“It’s completely crazy to be increasing fuel duty at this time, and let’s drill our own oil and gas in the North Sea.”
Kemi Badenoch said the UK should drill its own oil. (Image: Getty)
3 hours ago12:20 Rebecca Robinson
Petrol prices over 144p a litre The average petrol price shot up to 144.16p per litre on Monday, from 131.71p recorded before the US launched strikes on Iran.
As a result, it now costs £14.63 more to fill up a 55-litre family diesel car, with this number expected to go up again.
Petrol prices have shot up. (Image: Getty)
3 hours ago12:18 Rebecca Robinson
Brent crude oil ‘could hit $200 a barrel’ Vandana Hari, founder of oil market analysis firm Vanda Insights, warned: “Benchmark Middle Eastern crudes like Oman and Dubai have already crossed the $150 threshold, so $200 is already within sight, even if not for Brent and West Texas Intermediate.”
Analysts at consultancy Wood Mackenzie have also said Brent could soon hit $150 and that $200 oil is not “outside the realms of possibility” in 2026.
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3 hours ago12:16 Rebecca Robinson
Oil back above $100 a barrel Oil prices are rising again as Brent crude jumps above the $100 mark once more amid the US-Iran war.
On Tuesday, the price of Brent climbed 4% to $104 (£77.57) a barrel before dropping back down to around $102 (£76.15).
3 hours ago12:15 Rebecca Robinson
Welcome to our coverage Good afternoon and welcome to our live blog covering the rising price of oil. Follow along throughout the day for all the latest updates.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/2185943/oil-price-live-brent-crude-trump-us-iran-war
