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Donald Trump has raised hopes that the US-Israel military strikes on Iran may soon be over.
Financial markets have certainly taken that on board, with energy prices falling back from the war-level highs seen yesterday.
But were the president’s remarks deliberately aimed at taking heat out of those prices as countries across the world count the cost of the conflict?
Iran war latest: UK prepares second ship for deployment
It has already inflicted huge damage across the oil and natural gas-rich Middle East.
The region is crucial to global price stability because of those resources, and UK businesses and consumers are already paying a price, with the likelihood of much worse to come even if the war were to end now.
Here, Sky News explains what’s happened and how you will be affected.
Oil
This chart tells you all you need to know.
Any spike in global oil prices takes time to filter through fully. Black gold, as it is known, might be the enemy for the health of our planet, but it remains the crucial cog for the health of the global economy.
Oil prices will only recover to pre-war levels when Middle East output and deliveries through the key Strait of Hormuz have resumed.
The trouble here is that the biggest production sites for oil, and natural gas too, in the region have been shut down and it can take weeks to safely restart operations following any suspensions.
It means that an end to the war is not necessarily a quick fix for oil prices, with deeper consequences ahead. More on those later.
Fuel
This is where we have first seen the effects of rising oil prices.
The old saying goes that UK fuel prices are quick to rise and slow to fall.
Rewind to…
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