After opening March at $51.50/bbl, Brent crude prices fell to an 18-year low of $22.50/bbl as a combination of oversupply and weak global demand weighed on prices.

GBP dropped to its lowest level since the 1980s at 1.145 vs USD after the BoE cut interest rates, before recovering to 1.235 as the US became the epicentre of the coronavirus.

An emergency OPEC+ meeting ended in a stand-off between Saudi Arabia and Russia, with both nations vowing to increase output after failing to agree upon a supply cut.