Monthly rise in prices of fuel and raw materials, driven by Iran war, is one of steepest since survey began in 1997

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Construction companies in the UK are experiencing some of the sharpest cost rises in nearly 30 years as the war in Iran drives up prices for fuel and raw materials, according to a closely watched survey.

The poll of UK construction companies found that input cost inflation – which accounts for expenses such as raw materials, energy and labour – rose last month to the highest level since June 2022 when there was a spike in commodity prices caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

FTSE 250 firms Paragon and OSB Group, owner of Kent Reliance and Precise Mortgages, slide on London Stock Exchange

• Rachel Reeves considering rent freeze to limit Iran war fallout

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Shares in some of the UK’s biggest buy-to-let lenders such as Paragon and One Savings Bank have fallen after it emerged that the chancellor may make private landlords commit to a one-year rent freeze.

In an effort to protect households from rising living costs as a result of the Iran war, Rachel Reeves is considering whether to ban landlords in England from increasing rents for a limited period of time, the Guardian revealed on Monday night.

But Iran war likely to blow hole in Rachel Reeves’s carefully crafted fiscal ‘headroom’ in coming months

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The UK government budget came in below its annual borrowing target by £700m, official figures show – but the Iran war is likely to blow a hole in Rachel Reeves’s carefully calculated fiscal “headroom” over the coming months.

The government borrowed a net total of £132bn for the financial year ending in March, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. This slightly undershot the £132.7bn that the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) had forecast just last month.