Oil hits five-month high as global stocks wobble on AI fears; retail sales in Great Britain fall as shoppers cut back - as it happened

Oil has hit its highest level in more than five months as fears of fresh escalation in the Middle East conflict grip the energy markets.

Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil, rose by 1% on Friday morning to above $115 a barrel – its highest level since May.

The increase came after Tehran said it would attack oil facilities, undersea cables, datacentres and AI facilities in the Gulf region if a new US-Israeli offensive was launched against Iran .

Retail sales in Great Britain fell more steeply than expected last month, the latest negative economic update before the chancellor, John Healey , announces his budget next week.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the volume of goods sold fell 0.4% month on month in September, much steeper than economists’ consensus expectations of a 0.1% fall.

The decrease, which was fuelled in part by poor online sales of autumn and winter wear because of an unseasonably warm September, comes as figures show consumer confidence in the UK has fallen at the fastest rate since the Covid pandemic .

Consumer confidence in the UK has fallen at the fastest rate outside the Covid pandemic since the 2016 Brexit vote as the escalating economic damage from the war in the Middle East hits Britain.

With less than a week before John Healey’s first budget, the latest barometer from the data company GfK indicated confidence plunged by 11 percentage points in October to -24 amid pressure on consumers from the rising cost of living.

Highlighting the challenge for Andy Burnham and his chancellor before the statement on Wednesday, GfK said its consumer confidence index last fell by this much in a single month in July 2016, following the shock leave result in the EU referendum.

Ministers will make an unprecedented intervention in water bills and how companies prioritise investment, directing bosses to bring down costs and stop leaks and sewage overflows.

Angela Eagle, the environment secretary, has told suppliers in England and Wales she plans to intervene in the next price review – conducted by the water regulator, Ofwat.