The price of oil has continued to skyrocket in response to Donald Trump threatening more attacks on Iran as a Bank of England survey found bosses in the UK expect job cuts. Benchmark US crude rose 11.4% to $111.54 (£84.27) a barrel while the price of Brent crude, the international standard, jumped 7.8% to $109.03 (£82.38) per barrel. A year ago, Brent crude was trading at about $41.42 (£31.29).

Brent crude’s price has risen more than 50% since February 28 when Israel and the US launched the war. The Islamic Republic in response closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and gas flowed.

Iranian attacks on about two dozen commercial ships and the threat of more have halted almost all traffic in the waterway, which connects the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean.

The US President posted footage on social media yesterday (April 2), boasting that it showed the collapse of Iran’s biggest bridge. He also threatened “much more to follow”.

In an address on Wednesday, Mr Trump dashed market hopes of an imminent end to the war as he said US forces would keep hitting Iran “very hard” in the next two or three weeks and take the country “back to the Stone Ages”.

Oil prices in response remained elevated after Mr Trump failed to offer a clear timetable to end the conflict, which has disrupted supply chains and pushed up prices at the pumps.

The average cost per litre of unleaded in the UK was 154.45p. Diesel was at 185.23p as of Friday morning, according to RAC figures. The motoring organisation noted both are likely to rise further.

As of prices recorded on Thursday (April 2), diesel’s average price increased by 42.9p and petrol’s by 21.6p since the war began, RAC figures show.

Meanwhile, the Bank of England‘s monthly survey of 2,000 finance bosses showed companies expect inflation in the UK to reach 3.7% in the next year. The rate of price increases was 3% in March, before the impact of the war filtered through. Before the conflict began Threadneedle Street had forecast CPI inflation would fall to its 2% target in the second quarter of this year.

The survey also found that on average bosses expect to cut jobs by 0.3% in another blow to households and the UK economy.

Stock markets have seen volatility, but indexes around the world have risen and slid as markets digested Mr Trump’s words.

The FTSE 100 rose 0.7% to 10,436.29 on Thursday from a day low of 10,287.90. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 1.3% in Friday trading to 53,164.30. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 3.0% to 5,391.78. The Shanghai Composite sank 1.0% to 3,881.99.

Wall Street, where trading is closed for Good Friday, finished its first winning week since the start of the Iran war, although trading started out with a decline driven by the surge in oil prices.

The S&P 500 rose 7.37 points, or 0.1%, to 6,582.69. Several days of solid gains this week helped the benchmark index notch a 3.4% gain for the week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 61.07 points, or 0.1%, to 46,504.67. The Nasdaq composite rose 38.23 points, or 0.2%, to 21,879.18. Both indexes also notched up weekly gains.