US DATA: Chicago Fed Unemployment Estimate Sees Rounded 4.5% In March

PM Sir Keir Starmer and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves have arrived in the House of Commons ahead of the latter's delivery of the Spring Statement, expected imminently. Livestream here. Foreign Office departmental questions are still ongoing. Given the conflict in the Middle East, MPs are likely to have a large number of questions for Foreign Office ministers, and as such, questions may overrun a little. 

• US Data/Speaker Calendar (prior, estimate). All times ET
• 03/03   --    Wards Total Vehicle Sales
• 03/03 0855 Redbook Retail Sales Index
• 03/03 0955 NY Fed Williams moderated discussion
• 03/03 1130 US Tsy $90B 6W bill auction
• 03/03 1155 MN Fed Kashkari Bbg investment conf
• Source: Bloomberg Finance L.P. / MNI

Oil prices have continued to rally amid the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz and wider escalation in the Middle East, with WTI & Brent rallying by more than 8%, breaching yesterday’s highs.

• U.S. President Trump has stressed that the U.S. will do "whatever it takes" to achieve its military objectives in Iran. Several senior U.S. officials have signalled an impending significant expansion in in strikes.
• Elsewhere, recent comments from the IEA point to a readiness to stabilise the oil market, ahead of holding an Iran-centric meeting later today.
• Some sell-side names have suggested that the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz and continued attacks on shipping vessels/infrastructure are likely to persist for at least four weeks, with disruptions to LNG & oil flows lasting longer.
• Fibonacci projections ($84.42 for Brent & $78.05 for WTI) present the next upside targets of note.