The Bank of England is expected to keep its main interest rate unchanged at 3.75% in the wake of the oil and gas price hikes following the start of the Iran war. Until the U.S. and Israel started bombing Iran less than three weeks ago, it was a seen as nearly certainty that the Bank of England would cut interest rates Thursday. The Iran war has done much to upend global economic forecasts, not least in how it will affect prices. The longer the Iran war and the associated closure of the Strait of Hormuz go on, the greater the economic pain will be. A fifth of the world’s crude oil goes through the strait.