Families face a fresh cost-of-living nightmare if the Iran war spirals into a regional conflict, Rachel Reeves has been warned.
Ships were attacked as they transited through the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, igniting fears of soaring oil, electricity, transport and food prices as tankers were engulfed in flames.
Millions of Britons were warned petrol prices could hit a record high of more than 190p per litre if the Strait of Hormuz, which 20% of oil supplies pass through, becomes even more contested and dangerous.
Oil prices could surge to $100 a barrel, traders have predicted.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed they struck three American and British oil tankers in a missile attack on Sunday.
And shipping companies ordered sailors to avoid the critical waterway, instead redirecting them around the Cape of Good Hope, while others dropped anchor off the coast of Oman.