The European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged Thursday amid uncertainty about how volatile energy prices will affect inflation.

The central bank for the 21 countries that use the euro currency left its benchmark rate unchanged at 2.25% following a quarter-point hike at its previous meeting June 11. That increase was aimed at dampening the impact on consumer prices from higher oil prices due to the US-Iran war and subsequent interruption of oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.

The Houthi rebels' threat to blockade Saudi Arabia has the potential to widen the Iran war and further disrupt global oil supplies and international trade.

The Iran-backed rebels say they have closed the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to Saudi-linked shipping in retaliation for the kingdom's blockade on Yemen and a recent attack on the international airport in Yemen's rebel-held capital, Sanaa. The Houthis said on Thursday they had attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, causing fires to break out on both.

U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham's announcements during his first 24 hours on the job underscore the political and financial challenges he faces as he tries to jump-start the country's sluggish economy.

Burnham, from Britain's left-leaning Labour Party, faces restive voters seeking relief from the high cost of living. At the same time, the investors who help finance the government by buying its bonds are demanding that he reduce public sector debt that has ballooned to levels last seen in the 1960s.

Before the war in Iran, roughly 15 million barrels of Persian Gulf oil were shipped each day through the Strait of Hormuz. Within a few years, much of that oil could bypass the strait.

As Iran's chokehold over the strait drags on and oil prices surge, countries across the Gulf are planning to spend billions of dollars to build pipelines enabling them to redirect more supplies to ports along the Red Sea, Suez Canal and Gulf of Oman.

World oil prices soared Wednesday, with the benchmark international contract Brent North Sea crude surpassing $95 for the first time in nearly six weeks as the United States and Iran carried out more strikes.

Dubai will offer more than $800 worth of discounts and deals to residents who bring friends and family to visit, the emirate's media office said on Wednesday, as months of war have battered its tourism sector.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said on Tuesday that U.S. President Donald Trump's authorization for airlines to resume direct flights to Beirut presented a major opportunity for Lebanon's economy and connectivity with Washington.

Welcoming the announcement that came after Trump's meeting with President Joseph Aoun, Salam said the move "represents a significant opportunity to enhance travel and connectivity between Lebanon and the United States, and to support the Lebanese economy."

U.S. President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he has directed his administration to "allow all U.S. airline carriers to fly directly to Lebanon so that Americans can easily visit this beautiful land."

President Donald Trump on Monday imposed 50% tariffs on most Canadian goods, declaring that Canada has unfairly discriminated against American autos, alcohol and dairy products.

The move could unleash a new wave of economic chaos, with risks of higher inflation and further fraying of relations between two nations that had been closely woven together before Trump's return to the White House. The administration official previewing the action said that Canada was one of the only nations other than China that retaliated against Trump's previous tariffs and must be held accountable.

The European Commission on Monday fined Chinese online marketplace AliExpress 550 million euros ($629 million) for failing to adequately crack down on the sale of unsafe and counterfeit products on its site.

The fine, the biggest ever imposed for breaches of the 27-nation European Union's Digital Services Act, comes just months after another online retailer, Temu, was fined 200 million euros for similar breaches. Last year, Brussels issued a $120 million penalty for Elon Musk's social media site X.