Almost $15 million has been wagered on prediction markets like Polymarket about the price of a barrel of crude oil by the end of the month as the fuel crisis continues.

So far, in response to the question “Will Crude Oil (CL) hit__ by end of March?”, $14,621,677 worth of wagers have been made.

It comes as the platform has faced criticism for millions of dollars worth of bets being placed around the future of the Middle East while the death toll rises across the gulf.

President Donald Trump said that the United States is waiving certain oil-related sanctions as a way to ensure adequate oil supply and lower prices.

At a news conference at his Doral golf club, Trump said oil prices have not spiked as much as he had feared – that’s despite the price of oil soaring above $100 a barrel for the first time since 2022.

“We have sanctions on some countries. We’re going to take those sanctions off till the Strait (of Hormuz) is up,” Trump said.

He was not specific, but the US last week issued a temporary, day waiver to allow for the sale of Russian oil currently stranded at sea to India to alleviate pressure on the global oil market.

Andrew Feinberg, the Independent’s White House Correspondent reports:

President Donald Trump has said the US will protect oil shipping and help to keep energy and “oil flowing to the world.”

“I will not allow a terrorist regime to hold the world hostage and attempt to stop the globe’s oil supply,” he said giving an update on the Iran war from Florida.

“If Iran does anything to do that, they’ll get hit at a much, much harder level. I will take out those targets that were easy and that I mentioned just before will take them out so quickly they’ll never be able to recover ever.

“If they want to play that game, they better not play that game. In the long run, oil supplies will be dramatically more secure without the threat of Iranian ships, drones, missiles, nuclear menace, or anything so the Strait of the of Hormuz is going to remain safe.”

Economists said they expect UK unemployment – which was most recently recorded at 5.2% – to rise as high at 5.5% this year, in a significant increase from a previous forecast of 5.1%.

The British Chambers of Commerce expects inflation to remain high through 2027 “due to persistent high labour costs and hiring uncertainty”.

David Bharier, head of research at the BCC, said: “The UK economy remains stuck in a low-growth pattern.

Our forecast of just 1% growth in 2026 reflects weak productivity, subdued investment and cautious consumer spending.

“The recent escalation of conflict in Iran risks interrupting progress made on inflation.

“Higher energy prices linked to it could keep inflation firmly above the 2% target and lead the Bank of England to hold the interest rate longer than expected.”

Inflation will be higher than expected throughout 2026 as the conflict in the Middle East pushes up energy prices, the British Chambers of Commerce has warned.

The BCC’s latest economic report said the geopolitical situation remains “highly uncertain” but could “change the economic outlook considerably”.

It predicted that UK Consumer Prices Index inflation – which was 3% in January – will be at 2.7% by the end of the year. It had previously predicted it would have slowed to 2.1%.

Elevated inflation is linked to higher oil and gas prices due to the conflict in the Middle East, which is expected to push up energy prices in the near term.

The projections indicated that energy prices are then assumed to start easing back, allowing for overall inflation to drop back to the Bank of England’s target of 2% next year.

It said inflation is likely to drop to 1.9% by late next year as energy prices drop and wage growth moderates.

Rachel Reeves has said she “stands ready” to support a coordinated release of oil reserves held by the International Energy Agency after speaking with finance ministers from the G7 earlier on Monday.

She said: “I want to ensure the country that the fundamentals of Britain’s economy are strong. Every step that I have taken since the election has built our national resilience.

“Stability in the public finances, investment in infrastructure in both defence and energy security, and reform to our economy.”