War in Middle East threatens UK living standards growth; markets rally on report of Iran’s ‘secret outreach’ to end conflict – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news

Reeves’s spring statement? The economy is great, don’t worry about the Middle East

Global stock markets tumble as Trump bid to avert oil crisis in strait of Hormuz fails to reassure

Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.

The dust is settling after Rachel Reeves’s spring forecast statement yesterday, which showed that growth will be weaker than hoped this year while unemployment will be higher.