Financial Markets Daily Report
12 March 2026
During yesterday's session, market volatility continued to be elevated as the conflict in the Middle East approached its third week. Energy prices continued to rise as tensions intensified in the Strait of Hormuz, despite the International Energy Agency announcing the record release of 400 million barrels from their oil reserves, which investors see as insufficient.
Inflationary concerns drove up government bond yields globally, especially in the Euro Area, as several ECB board members made hawkish remarks regarding the inflation outlook. In the US, YoY inflation in February came in with no surprise at 2.4%, unchanged from January. Still, March data will be the first to reflect the impact of the conflict.
In currency markets, the dollar continued to strengthen due to its safe-haven status, with the EURUSD trading below 1.16. Brent crude and TTF natural gas are trading above $96/barrel and EUR 51/MWh as of this morning, respectively. Today, investors focus is expacted to remain in the Middle East, as no major macro data will be released.