As oil prices breach $105 a barrel in the wake of US-Iran tensions disrupting the Strait of Hormuz, central banks on both sides of the Atlantic are once again confronted with the ancient dilemma of money: how to restrain rising prices without extinguishing the fragile warmth of economic growth. The European Central Bank has already moved, lifting its benchmark rate to 2.5%, while the US Federal Reserve and Bank of England prepare their own verdicts this week. What distinguishes this moment from the inflation crisis of 2022 is not the energy shock itself, but the quieter world surrounding it —