He must consider the longevity of Iran war economic pressures and how to sustain modest optimism, writes the BBC's Faisal Islam.

Published6 hours ago

"It is tough," John Healey admitted to me earlier this month when I asked him if there had been too much doom-mongering

"Conflicts, uncertainty, driving up inflation, driving up interest rates. But we've got great strengths. We've got good reasons to be confident about the future of Britain," he insisted

The new scheme to try and help young people get on the property ladder, announced on Saturday, was aimed at boosting confidence in the economy

But the chancellor is now facing two big decisions before his inaugural Budget on 28 October

Firstly, about the longevity of the economic pressures caused by the Iran War, and then about how to sustain a modest but notable uptick in economic spirits, through yet more global turbulence

In his first weeks as chancellor the oil price fell as low as $75 a barrel while the yield - the effective interest rate - on 10-year government bonds was 4.9%

Just over two months later oil has largely traded above $100 and the 10-year yield is at around 5.4%. It is the ultimate double whammy for a chancellor facing his first Budget

1. How long could Iran pressures last