20 Mar 2026
Christopher Williams
Business Editor
Good morning,
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has advised people to work remotely in order to save on fuel demand as the growing energy crisis intensifies.
Also in today’s edition
Why rip-off fees could not save Britain’s biggest car park owner
The oil market is in uncharted waters and signalling alarm for Europe
IEA urges people to work from home as energy prices soar
Drivers have been urged to work from home as the oil crisis limits supplies and sends prices surging Credit: Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images
Chris Price
Markets Editor
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has urged people to work from home as the Iran war intensifies the energy crisis sweeping the globe.
The body said people should limit commuting where possible as the worldwide energy shock becomes “more and more severe”.
It released a 10 point set of actions that it said could be “implemented quickly” by governments, businesses and households.
Top of this list was a request to “work from home where possible” which “reduces fuel demand for commuting”.
From the Business editor
Clear market signals that the UK faces economic peril
Andrew Bailey signalled he was ‘ready’ to raise borrowing costs if necessary Credit: Carl Court/AP via Getty Images
Energy prices are rising fast and soon food prices will too. That’s why central banks, including the Bank of England, have already crushed hopes of lower interest rates.
The gloom is fuelling suggestions that Donald Trump’s war will bring the long and mostly benign global economic cycle since the financial crisis to an explosive end.
The ingredients to turn an energy shock into a historic economic emergency are there. Drones and missiles are hitting gas mega-terminals in a world of AI mania and carefree private credit. The Gulf is at the centre of all three, and everything could detonate together.
Andrew Bailey struggled to convince as he cautioned yesterday against betting on interest rate rises. The Monetary Policy Committee’s decision to hold rates was inevitably seen as a prelude to upward moves.
This coincided with Wednesday night’s escalation at Ras Laffan in Qatar to trigger a sell-off of UK debt. The yield on two-year gilts surged 40 basis points.
Such moves happened everywhere, but the UK’s cost of borrowing was driven up at a much faster rate than other advanced economies. This phenomenon is now observable every time there’s a cloud on the horizon. Our costs fall faster too, but the big swings are another brake on dismal growth.
There’s another clear market signal that Britain is facing particular economic peril. Brent crude is more expensive than its US equivalent WTI by the widest margin in more than a decade. That indicates a genuine squeeze on European energy supply.
So the conflict has already damaged the UK economy. But Iran clearly believes it must do significant damage to the US economy to prevail. For any nation in the crossfire, the next few days are critical. Markets are losing faith in an outbreak of peace, however.
Why rip-off fees could not save Britain’s biggest car park owner
Drivers are rejoicing NCP’s collapse online after years of frustration over high parking charges Credit: Katy Blackwood/NurPhoto
Ben Marlow
Associate Editor
When Britain’s biggest car park operator called in the administrators this week, sympathy was in short supply.
Motorists rejoiced online, pointing to exorbitant fees that reached up to £60 a day in central London. Yet, the true story of NCP’s demise goes far beyond extortionate ticket prices.
For 25 years, a succession of private equity firms treated the business as a giant cash cow, saddling it with aggressive sale-and-leaseback deals and punishing rent burdens.
Backers blamed the pandemic and Vladimir Putin, but the ghost of extreme financial engineering had already sealed its fate.
Today’s Headlines
The Observer offers voluntary redundancy to all staff
Ex-Lloyd’s of London boss ‘who had workplace affair’ misses £2m bonus
Diesel ‘to hit £2 a litre within weeks’
Entrepreneurs’ faith in Labour plunges to record low
chart of the day
The oil market is in uncharted waters and signalling alarm for Europe
How high will Trump’s war on Iran drive Britain’s energy prices? Dubai crude oil is already trading at $160 a barrel as refineries fight for supplies.
Oil market analysts say similar prices will be heading for Europe if the conflict continues much longer, with diesel already predicted to hit £2 a litre in April, petrol following fast, and gas potentially quadrupling by the summer compared to pre-conflict prices.
Opinion
Omran Al-Kuwari
The nightmare scenario for energy markets has become reality
Any hit to Qatar’s gas would quickly raise UK bills, exposing how crucial that relationship is
Markets
MY MUST-READS
Puck: The Walls Are Closing in on Sam Bankman-Fried
The New Yorker: Why David Boies Thinks We Should Support Trump’s Iran War
The Wall Street Journal: A Vegas Gambler, a Hollywood Power Player and the Legal Fight Roiling Paramount
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