Brent crude prices rose above $70/bbl for the first time since May 2019 in early March, before dropping below $65/bbl after the vital Suez Canal shipping route was blocked.

After reaching a high of 1.40 against USD following the UK budget announcement, GBP fell 3 cents to 1.37 as EU supply chain issues threatened the UK’s vaccine rollout.

A five-day blockage of the Suez Canal, caused by the 200KT container ship MV Ever Given, is estimated to have held up $9.6bn of trade, including 1m barrels of oil per day.