UK Faces Worst Growth and Price Hit from Iran War, IMF Says

Britain will suffer the biggest economic shock from the Iran war of any major advanced economy and struggle to cushion the blow through either interest rate cuts or state support, according to the International Monetary Fund.

The global financial supervisor cut its UK growth forecast by 0.5 percentage points this year and 0.2 percentage points in 2027, a steeper downgrade since January than it gave the rest of the Group of Seven’s leading nations. The UK is hardest hit due to the “large negative effect” of being a “net energy-importing” economy, the IMF said. Germany was next worst affected, with a 0.6 percentage point downgrade across the two years.