Since inflation in the UK has fallen from its extreme high in 2022, the Bank has steadily decreased its interest rate over the past year, easing the pressure on people with a mortgage to pay.

U.S. investors on Friday sought refuge in safe-haven assets like the dollar and gold, as oil prices surged after Iran retaliated against Israel's biggest-ever military strike against the major crude producer.

Oil prices leaped, and stocks slumped on worries that escalating violence following Israel’s attack on Iranian nuclear and military targets could damage the flow of crude around the world, along with the global economy.

The Indian rupee is expected to slip past 86 to the U.S. dollar at the open on Friday, hit by surging oil prices and sliding risk assets after Israel attacked targets in Iran. The 1-month non-deliverable forward indicated a open in the 86.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly demanded the Federal Reserve slash interest rates. But Fed officials have stood pat, waiting to see how his administration’s sweeping policy changes affect the economy first.

It is the first time that Britain has advised against travel to any part of Israel since 2013, when the FCDO set up its dedicated travel advice pages. Starmer has not ruled out offering air support to defend Israel from Iranian attacks, as additional RAF fighter jets and other military aircraft were deployed to the Middle East.

U.S. ultra-low sulfur diesel futures hit the highest level since February, outpacing gains in oil and gasoline as analysts warned that diesel supply is the most exposed to the conflict in the Middle East.

The US ordered some staff to leave its embassy in Baghdad, and restricted government employees and family members in Israel from traveling outside major cities like Tel Aviv. Around the same time, risk warnings from naval forces were issued to vessels operating in and around the Persian Gulf,