Money blog: Bitcoin plunges - amid fears it could fall even lower (2025)

Energy prices have skyrocketed in the past few years - but now we have an estimate for exactly how much the spike has cost an average household since the cost of living crisis began.

Data from Ofgem shows the average household is likely to pay around £750 more a year for their energy than in winter 2020-2021 - an increase of 75%.

When this is added to the price changes and government support over time, the total extra cost that the average household has had to find for their energy will reach an estimated £3,033 by the end of June 2025, the energy regulator estimates.

The figure is based on an assumed household with 2.4 people living in it, consuming 2,700 kWh of electricity and 11,500 kWh of gas - and comes after Ofgem announced its new energy price cap for April to June this morning, which it has set at £1,849.

The energy price cap limits what utility companies can charge customers for a daily standing charge and each kilowatt-hour of gas and electricity they use.

Ofgem releases the cap quarterly and estimates how much the average household would typically pay over a year at the new unit price.

The government should consider reviewing how Ofgem calculates charges to help sustain public support for the expansion of clean energy.

That's according to an associate director at the Institute for Public Policy Research thinktank, who says Brits want to see the end of the UK's "costly reliance" on gas and shift to "homegrown, secure, and low-cost renewables".

It comes as Ofgem today raised the energy price cap by more than expected, meaning the average annual energy bill will increase to £1,849 from April.

Sam Alvis says people must see that the government's commitment to move to clean power by 2030 shows they are "on their side" when it comes to bringing down energy bills.

But he says there are things Labour could do before then to mitigate the rise in bills, including reviewing how regulator Ofgem calculates its charges.

"Immediate action on household costs can help sustain public support for the rapid expansion of clean energy," he says.

"The government should consider rebalancing costs between bills and taxation and review how Ofgem calculates charges."

Wizz Air is launching the UK's only non-stop flights to the Saudi Arabian city of Medina.

The budget airline announced it will begin daily return flights between Gatwick Airport and Medina from 1 August, with single fares are available from £233.99.

Medina, which only opened to non-Muslim travellers in 2023, is one of the oldest and most important places in Islamic history, considered to be one of the three key cities alongside Mecca and Jerusalem.

The Prophet's Mosque in the heart of the city serves as the burial site of Muhammad and is a major site of pilgrimage.

At present, travellers wanting to fly between the UK and Medina must take connecting flights.

Marion Geoffroy, managing director of Wizz Air UK, said the announcement of the Gatwick-Medina route is "an important milestone for the airline".

She added: "This new direct route will give thousands of travellers the chance to connect with a city rich in culture and history, for an affordable price."

More than 25,000 first-time buyers in England are set to miss the stamp duty deadline, new data reveals - at a total cost of £34m.

From 1 April, the threshold at which first-time buyers start paying the tax will drop to £300,000 from £425,000 - meaning many more will be liable.

The stamp duty threshold for all other buyers is also changing - the nil rate level will fall to £125,000 from £250,000.

Property website Rightmove's analysis found that 74,000 buyers are expected to miss the31 March deadline - at a collective cost of £142m.

Rightmove's property market expert Colleen Babcock said sheexpected a "rush" to meet the 31 March deadlineas first-time buyers and home-movers try to avoid paying extra in tax.

"Our numbers show how there is a relatively small, but disproportionately impacted group of first-time buyers who will be caught out by the changing thresholds, highlighting some disparities in the way the current system works," she said.

Aldi has unveiled new pay rates that will make its employees the best-paid in the supermarket sector.

The discount retailers will award its store assistants a better-than-expected pay rise from 1 March.

Thesupermarketwill pay all shop workers at least £12.75 an hour nationally, and £14.05 within the M25.

Aldi has also confirmed that pay will rise further to £13.66 nationally, and £14.35 within the M25, based on length of service.

The pay rises puts Aldi ahead of Lidl, which last month announced plans to make its staff the best paid, upping its entry-level hourly wage from £12.40 to £12.75.

That followed a similar decision by Sainsbury's in January to raise pay by 5% in 2025, taking hourly pay to £12.45 in March and then £12.60 in August.

BySarah Taaffe-Maguire, business and economics reporter

While consumer groups hit out at energy company profits after the energy price cap rose today, the chief executive of water company Pennon was defending her pay increase to MPs.

Susan Davy, chief executive of South West Water's parent company, acknowledged the company had "a lot more to do" on customer service and engagement and "isn't where it needs to be" on environmental performance.

Davy was at the helm of the water utility responsible for an outbreak of cryptosporidium that resulted in an eight-week boil water notice for parts of Devon and left hundreds sick last May.

Despite this, her total pay package rose in 2023/24 to £860,000 from £543,000 the previous financial year.

Addressing the MPs on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee earlier, Davy defended her pay, saying she did not take a bonus.

When asked if she felt she deserved her pay, she said the sum was set by a remunerationcommittee, rather than by her, and she was "well paid for what is a very responsible and accountable role".

"I've had a history of not taking annual bonuses," she said.

There was no means for customer bill rises to be considered in awarding her pay, she said.

Bills at South West Water are to rise 32% by 2030.

When questioned about rising shareholder payments, called dividends, Davy said they were declared but not paid out after the cryptosporidium outbreak.

Small claims taken by customers have been settled by Pennon, but Davy was unable to say whether claimants were required to sign non-disclosure agreements.

Signing NDAs was not something Pennon did "as a matter of course", she told MPs.

By Connor Sephton, news reporter

Bitcoin has plunged to its lowest level since November.

The world's biggest cryptocurrency fell to £68,500 at one point today.

Only a month ago, it had been trading at all-time highs of £86,000.

This comes days after Bybit, a major crypto exchange, lost more than £1.1bn in the biggest hack on record.

It's believed the Lazarus Group, which has ties to the North Korean state, carried out this attack.

And according to theCrypto Today podcast, phishing attacks were used to deceive Bybit executives into transferring this crypto into wallets that they did not control.

Significant amounts of the stolen funds are now being laundered by the hackers, making it harder to track where the coins have gone.

Donald Trump's vow to push ahead with tariffs on some of America's closest trading partners, including Mexico and Canada, is also weighing heavily on investor sentiment.

Bitcoin could fall further if large institutional investors decide to sell up - with some analysts warning prices may hit lows of £55,000 in the near future.

There are signs this is already happening, with more than £400m flowing out of funds tracking BTC's price on Wall Street yesterday.

All 50 of the biggest cryptocurrencies are in the red over the past 24 hours - with many suffering double-digit losses.

They include Ether, XRP, Solana and Dogecoin.

The sudden and dramatic downturn has wiped more than £235bn from the total value of the crypto industry since this time yesterday.

Olive oil prices have finally started to fall after months of record-breaking inflation.

Analysis of Assosia data by The Grocer shows olive oil products in the major supermarkets dropping in pricesince 1 January, with some lines down by as much as 33%.

Prices hit record highs in 2023 and 2024 after extreme drought in Spain, where almost half of the global supply is produced.

Olive oil even became themost stolen item in Spanish supermarkets last year, with gangs targeting the "liquid gold".

But a return to milder weather conditions in recent months has meant suppliers have been able to reduce their wholesale prices, leading to a drop in shelf prices.

"We knew olive oil harvests were projected to be higher than last year, helped byrainand milder temperatures in spring, which created better growing conditions," said Napolina's marketingdirector Jeremy Gibson.

"This idealclimateimproved the state of the olive trees, previously decimated by the dry weather and heatwaves experienced across southern Europe last year.

"This was welcomed by growers, and as a result, they were able to shift their focuses away from navigating another poor harvest, to preparing the groves for a solid season and a return to normal volumes."

BySarah Taaffe-Maguire, business and economics reporter

The most valuable companies on the London Stock Exchange are on track to miss the government-backed target of having women in 40% of top executive roles by 2025.

Figures out today showed women occupied only 35% ofleadership roles at FTSE 350 companies. But the target was met for company boards, with women comprising 43% of board roles.

Company boards of directors are responsible for business management with positions that include directors, senior executives and chair people.

The benchmark FTSE 100 index of the 100 most valuable firms is up 0.37% today as are the bigger and more UK-based FTSE 250 with gains of 0.16%.

The pound has kept the rises earned last week and is still worth $1.26. It's better than much of the last month, but way down on the $1.34 highs of September.

There's been little change against the euro, with a pound getting you €1.2053, as has been the case for much of the last 10 days.

Oil prices have ticked up early this week but are still comparatively low at $74.70 for a barrel of Brent crude oil.

Today's energy price cap increase will affect every household in the UK, but not in the exact same way.

That's because where you live affects the cost of your energy and how expensive your energy bills are.

Gas and electricity prices vary between regions, even if you use the exact same amount of energy as another household.

Why do prices vary?

The biggest reason for bills varying by region is due to supply and demand.

Energy companies bulk-buy energy from generators to provide homes with power. If it knows an area has lots of customers, the company will bulk buy energy, meaning the cost per unit in those areas tend to be lower.

By contrast, if there are relatively few people in your area, then the per-unit cost is driven up.

Other factors that affect costs include the fees charged by local distribution networks to energy companies to help distribute energy to homes, which differ depending on which network is used.

Who pays the least and most?

The East Midlands is still home to the cheapest gas unit rate.

Come April and the new energy price cap increase, the South West will have the highest average gas unit rate, paying 7.22p per kWh on average.

Customers in the East Midlands pay the least on average, with a unit rate of 6.85p.

The North Wales and Mersey region has the highest average electricity unit rate meanwhile, paying 28.50p per kWh.

Households in Southern Scotland pay the least on average, with a unit rate of 25.82p.