World News for Students of English

24-03-2026 15:00

The war in Iran is causing a sudden increase in petrol prices across Europe. Global energy markets are unstable because of the conflict and the partial closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for oil.

Data shows that between late February and early March, countries like Germany and Austria saw prices rise by as much as 14%. In Germany, the price of a litre of petrol jumped from 1.82 euros to over 2.00 euros in just a few weeks. Governments are now looking for ways to protect drivers. For example, Germany is looking at new laws to stop gas stations from changing prices several times a day. Austria has already limited how often prices can go up. Meanwhile, Hungary has introduced a price cap specifically for cars with Hungarian license plates to prevent fuel tourism from neighboring countries.

Experts warn that if oil prices continue to rise, European drivers could pay an extra 150 million euros every day.

Difficult words: partial (something that is not complete or does not cover the whole part of something), price cap (a rule made by the government that sets the maximum amount of money a shop or company can charge for a product), fuel tourism (a situation where people drive across a border to another country to buy cheaper petrol or diesel).

You can watch the video news lower on this page.