Miliband to tell White House ending Iran war will bring down prices

The Energy Secretary is heading to Washington to make the case that a deal with Iran would lower global oil prices. The Mirror reports Ed Miliband will tell the Trump administration that ending the standoff could ease pressure on household bills.

Oil prices have already fallen as US officials raise the prospect of talks. The BBC reports prices dropped after American negotiators floated the possibility of an agreement. Meanwhile the Independent carries news that the Trump administration has extended a waiver on the Jones Act - a century-old law restricting which ships can carry cargo between American ports - in an effort to reduce domestic gas costs.

The Jones Act requires goods moved between US ports to travel on American-built, American-crewed, American-owned vessels. It dates to 1920, written to protect the domestic shipping industry after the First World War. Economists have argued for decades that it raises costs - Hawaii pays more for fuel shipped from California than from Singapore, because the law blocks cheaper foreign carriers. The waiver is temporary. What matters is whether it becomes permanent, and whether Miliband's pitch to the White House lands: that geopolitics and household energy bills are the same question, and that both respond to the same lever.

The Express notes Miliband faces a frosty reception after past criticism of Trump. The meeting will test whether a British minister can separate prior comments from present interest - and whether the administration cares more about the argument than the man making it.

What to watch: whether the waiver is extended beyond its current term, and whether oil prices hold their fall if Iran talks advance.