Closing post
Time to wrap up…
The boss of Abu Dhabi’s state-owned oil company has warned that the strait of Hormuz is “not open” despite the US-Iran ceasefire agreed earlier this week, as uncertainty over the truce pushed the price of US oil over $100 a barrel on Thursday.
Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose by over 4% on Thursday to almost $99 a barrel, while New York light crude climbed by 5.8% to as high as $100.29 a barrel. On Wednesday, Brent had tumbled 13.29%, falling to a four-week low of $94.75 a barrel.
The head of the International Monetary Fund has warned that the Iran war will permanently scar the global economy even if a durable peace deal in the Middle East can be reached.
In a speech delivered as the ceasefire in the conflict threatens to unravel, Kristalina Georgieva said the “scarring effects” caused by the war to date would mean slower global growth this year than first anticipated.
Had it not been for the outbreak of the conflict six weeks ago, the IMF would have upgraded its global growth outlook for 2026, Georgieva said. “But now, even our most hopeful scenario involves a growth downgrade. Even in a best case, there will be no neat and clean return to the status quo.”
British Airways has announced it will offer a reduced flight schedule to the Middle East when it resumes services in July, and use the aircraft to operate more direct flights to India and Kenya.
The airline has currently suspended services to the region because of the Iran war, and plans to resume flights to Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, in mid-May, as well as services to Dubai, Doha and Tel Aviv on 1 July. It is cutting its Dubai flights from three – a day to one daily flight, and reducing services to Doha, Tel Aviv and Riyadh from two to one a day.
It will drop Jeddah in Saudi Arabia permanently as a destination from 24 April. Flights to Bahrain and Amman are paused until 25 October. Flights to Larnaca in Cyprus are scheduled to resume on 22 May.
OpenAI has put plans for a landmark project to strengthen the UK’s AI capabilities on hold, citing high energy costs and regulation.
Stargate UK was a part of the landmark UK-US AI deal announced last September, in which US companies appeared to commit £31bn to the UK’s tech sector, part of a larger series of investments intended to “mainline AI” into the British economy.
Iran war will scar global economy even if peace is reached, IMF boss warns
The head of the International Monetary Fund has warned that the Iran war will permanently scar the global economy even if a durable peace deal in the Middle East can be reached.
In a speech delivered as the ceasefire in the conflict threatens to unravel, Kristalina Georgieva said the “scarring effects” caused by the war to date would mean slower global growth this year than first anticipated.
Had it not been for the outbreak of the conflict six weeks ago, the IMF would have upgraded its global growth outlook for 2026, Georgieva said.
But now, even our most hopeful scenario involves a growth downgrade. Even in a best case, there will be no neat and clean return to the status quo.
Georgieva said there was heightened uncertainty over the depth of the global slowdown triggered by the war. However, every scenario the body has produced for its flagship World Economic Outlook report – to be published on Tuesday – shows a permanent hit to living standards.
Updated
