 | Millions of households across Great Britain will pay more for their gas and electricity bills from today as the biggest ever increase in energy bills takes effect.
Ofgem's price cap has risen by 54% to reflect higher wholesale energy costs that are now being passed on to consumers, adding to a growing cost of living crisis.
The Resolution Foundation, a thinktank, said the number of English households in fuel stress would double overnight from 2.5m to 5m.
Energy price pressures are only likely to get worse because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and threats to Europe's gas supply. Russia is a major supplier to countries such as Germany. Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, on Thursday said European customers would need to pay for gas in roubles, although the details of the order appear to let buyers continue to use euros or dollars, for now.
Citizens Advice said about 5 million people would be unable to pay their energy bills from April, even accounting for the support the government has already announced.
It warned this number would almost triple to one in four people in the UK – more than 14m – if the price cap rises again in October, based on current predictions.
Energy prices are not the only thing that are rising: a poll by the British Chambers of Commerce has found that more UK businesses are preparing to raise prices than at any time since the 1980, likely further stoking inflationary pressure.
When firms were asked by the BCC what pressures they were facing to raise prices, 92% of manufacturers cited raw materials, while 56% pointed to energy and transport costs among other overheads.
It is all adding to the pressure on the government, which faced a slew of negative headlines after the chancellor Rishi Sunak's spring statement. The statement was perceived as doing little to tackle the biggest expected fall in living standards since the 1950s.
Europe's stock markets are open but there is not much movement on this spring Friday morning.
The FTSE 100 is flat, up by 0.03%, and the mid-cap FTSE 250 is up by 0.33%.
Germany's Dax benchmark is up by 0.1%, France's Cac 40 has gained 0.13%, as has Europe's broader Stoxx 600 index.
The agenda
• 10am BST: eurozone inflation (March; previous: 5.9%; consensus: 6.6%)
• 1:30pm BST: US non-farm payrolls (March; prev: 678,000; consensus: 490,000)
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BA investors as much as customers deserve explanation for IT woes 
