THE Middle East conflict’s impact on energy markets has been reflected in the latest RPI data released by Statistics Jersey, after climbing fuel prices contributed to a rise in the Island’s overall inflation rate.
The Retail Prices Index for September 2026, published on Friday, stated that the annual rate of inflation – which was marked at 2.8% in June – rose to 3.0% over the following quarter.
Most categories observed price increases during the period. The largest change was seen with average prices in the fuel and light group, which increased by 8.8%.
The report noted that heating oil and other fuels have seen an annual increase of 47.7%, while petrol and oil rose by 22.7%.
Outlining the data, Statistics Jersey stated: “During this period, global energy markets remained affected by geopolitical developments in the Middle East, contributing to movements in the prices of products such as heating oil and petrol.
“These impacts are reflected in this quarter’s figures.”
The conflict between the US and Iran has caused significant volatility in oil prices, stemming from constricted shipping volumes through the Strait of Hormuz.
Statistics Jersey acknowledged that there have been further increases in fuel prices since its research, particularly for diesel, noting that: “As these changes occurred after price collection had been completed, they are not captured in the figures presented in this report”.
Other large spending areas included the housing costs group, which made up the largest contribution to RPI and increased by 0.2%, adding 0.05 percentage points to the overall rate.
Alcoholic drinks, as well as the fares and other travel category, were also among the main contributors (+0.14 and +0.13 percentage points respectively).
