Shell writes off up to $5 billion after leaving Russia; UK house price rises continue – Business Live | company

House prices in the UK continued to rise over the past month, taking the average house price to a new record high of over £282,000.

But pressure on the cost of living could take some of the heat out of the market this year.

Mortgage lender Halifax reports that house prices rose 1.4%m/m in March, the sharpest rise in six months, after rising 0.8% in February.

It is the ninth straight month of increases and means house prices were 11.0% higher than in March 2021.

Here are the key points:

• Monthly house price growth of 1.4%, the biggest increase in six months
• The average house price hits another new record high at £282,753
• Two years after the initial lockdown, house prices are now up £43,577
• South West overtakes Wales as the UK area with the highest rate of house price inflation
• Pressure on the cost of living is likely to slow house price growth this year

Good morning and welcome to our rolling live coverage of the economy, economy and financial markets.

Leaving Russia will cost the oil giant sleeve up to $5 billion, but the rise in oil prices will cushion the blow.

Shell reported this morning that it will write off $4 billion to $5 billion (£3 billion to £3.8 billion) in assets after tax after it decided to leave Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.

The bill includes the “impairment of fixed assets” and additional costs such as customer write-offs and loan defaults.

Shell last month announced it would divest its stake in all Russian hydrocarbons, including crude oil, petroleum products, gas and LNG, stop importing Russian crude and close its service stations, aviation fuels and lubricants in Russia.

But Shell has also reported that its oil and gas trading activities will get a boost from soaring energy prices, which have skyrocketed since the start of the Ukraine war.

Accordingly, profits from oil trading in the first quarter should be “significantly higher” than in the fourth quarter of 2021.

the indicative Refining margin is approximately $10.23/bbl compared to $6.55/bbl in the fourth quarter of 2021.

Trading in the integrated gas division is also likely to be stronger than in the previous quarter.

Shell’s update comes as the UK government announces its long-awaited energy strategy to reduce the country’s dependence on foreign energy.

Nuclear power is at the heart of the strategy, with plans for up to eight new reactors and a goal to increase offshore wind power capacity to make 95 percent of the country’s electricity “low-carbon” by 2030.

But there is disappointment that ministers have vowed to continue exploiting oil and gas in the North Sea and have not announced plans to slash demand through a push for isolation.

As our news story explains:

The plans could infuriate environmental campaigners after the ability to remove barriers to more onshore wind farms appeared to fall victim to Tory fighting, new drilling in the North Sea won the government’s blessing and ministers appeared to open the door to fracking.

Opposition parties have been scathing about the strategy. Two former Labor and Liberal Democrat energy secretaries slammed it as “ridiculous” and “hopeless” for failing to expand onshore wind power or address energy efficiency.

The agenda

• 7am BST: Halifax Home Price Index for March
• 9.30am BST: ONS releases latest business insights and economic activity surveys
• 10am BST: Euro-Zone Retail Sales for February
• 1.15pm BST: Huw Pill, Bank of England chief economist, speaks at the 8th BoE International Conference on the Government Bond Market
• 1.30pm BST: Weekly US jobless claims