Oil price rises to $97 a barrel as ‘Iran stops exchanging messages with US’ – as it happened
British house prices fell 0.6% in May, leaving them 1.7% higher than a year earlier, Nationwide reports
Eurozone factories were hit by the biggest jump in input costs in four years last month.
The Iran war drove up the cost of raw materials and intermediate goods, according to the latest poll of purchasing managers at European manufacturers.
Although euro area manufacturers reported an expansion for a fourth successive month in May, the sector is showing signs of struggling under the weight of rising prices and supply disruptions emanating from the war in the Middle East.
“A key development in May was yet another surge in energy and raw material prices, causing the largest monthly jump in firms’ costs for four years. The incidence of supply chain delays has meanwhile risen to the highest since the pandemic supply squeeze of 2022, adding further upward pressure to prices.
“Global turmoil is taking a toll on the property market. House prices fell between April and May and are up just 1.7% in a year. It’s a valuable reminder that property investments aren’t always safe as houses.
“The Nationwide House Price Index only provides a partial picture of the market, but it’s particularly timely, because it looks at prices at the point of mortgage approvals – months ahead of the completion data we get from the Office for National Statistics.
