United Kingdom in April 2026: the most important developments in economy
In the United Kingdom in April 2026 the economy was dominated by the energy price shock linked to the Iran war. Brent crude rose above $110 a barrel on 6 April, factory costs saw their biggest monthly jump since 1992, and airlines including British Airways and EasyJet warned of a jet fuel squeeze and higher fares. Inflation rose to 3.3% on 22 April, consumer confidence fell to a 33-month low, and the IMF said the UK faces the largest hit among G7 economies, with households about 480 pounds worse off this year. Among the corporate effects, OpenAI paused its UK data centre project on 9 April, citing energy costs and regulation. The government pledged 600 million pounds to cut energy costs for factories and Ed Miliband set out plans to separate gas and electricity prices, while a Cabinet minister warned the price shock could last up to eight months after the war ends.
The oil and gas industry benefited from the volatility. BP's quarterly profit more than doubled to $3.2 billion, and Shell agreed to buy Canadian gas producer ARC Resources for $16.4 billion. In the debate over the North Sea, Tony Blair urged Miliband to allow new drilling, Donald Trump called Britain "crazy" not to use its oil, and unions warned that opposing drilling would cost Labour seats.
Relations with the US added strain. Trump said on 15 April that the trade deal was in a "sad state" and might be altered or torn up, and on 24 April he threatened "big tariffs" over the UK's digital services tax. On 30 April he said the US would remove tariffs on Scotch whisky after the King's visit.
In technology and business, Anthropic planned to bring its Mythos model to UK banks after the Bank of England moved to assess its risks. Ofcom opened an investigation into Telegram over child sexual abuse material. Claire's closed all 154 stores in the UK and Ireland, with 1,300 jobs lost.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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