The Iran war's aftermath is causing a significant slowdown in growth and prices, according to business surveys by S&P Global. The purchasing manager indexes for March showed declines, with composite measures for the U.S. and the euro zone lower than economists predicted, while Australia's equivalent gauge showed a sudden contraction and Indian factory activity slowed to the weakest since 2021. Several price readings surged, with input cost inflation in Germany accelerating at the fastest pace in over three years. The impact of the conflict on energy supplies has already led to alarm among policymakers, with European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde stating that the hostilities sparked by President Donald Trump’s attack on Iran have stoked “upside risks for inflation and downside risks for economic growth” Monetary officials in Frankfurt and London have begun to focus on a euro-zone hike in interest rates.