As the fog of war rolls across global financial markets, global investors and traders will also be paying close attention to this week's ECB policy decision and the latest US inflation data, and the latter's impact on the Fed's intended rate hikes.

Here are the key scheduled economic data releases and events slated for this week:

Monday, March 7

The “fog of war” is often used during times of conflict with news flow stifled and unclear.

The next nonfarm payrolls (NFP) report will be released at 8:30AM New York time tomorrow (Friday, March 4th).

Even though the Ukraine crisis right now remains a major driver of financial markets, investors and traders worldwide will still be closely monitoring this crucial piece of data out of the US economy.

What are nonfarm payrolls?

Nonfarm payrolls show how many jobs were added, or lost, in the US labor market in a particular month.

Markets enter another day of conflict in Ukraine, battered by uncertainty and the threat of more sanctions from the West. The “nuclear” option of hitting Russia’s energy markets has not yet come to pass, but the increasing military threat, as Russian forces gather outside the Ukrainian capital city only adds to the tension and likelihood of this happening.

Gold prices closed out February with a gain of 6.2% for the month of February. That is much higher compared to the performances of various safe haven assets last month:

These are the major scheduled economic data releases and events that are due in the coming days, as the Ukraine crisis continues to dominate market sentiment: 

Monday, February 28

Markets are trying to make sense of recent price action after one of the biggest turnarounds in history.

Stocks are plunging worldwide while emerging market currencies tumbled, led by the Russian Ruble, after Russia launched an attack on the Ukraine. Europe’s worst security crisis in decades has in turn triggered a flight to safety, which has seen the likes of gold and the Japanese Yen soaring.

Yesterday’s military escalation in Eastern Ukraine has so far had only a limited further fall-out in global financial markets. Asian markets are relatively steady after the major US stock indices dropped into negative territory, with the S&P 500 closing in official “correction” territory for the first time in two years. That means it is 10% lower than its record closing high from early in January.

Oil prices have skyrocketed due to heightened fears surrounding the Ukraine crisis.

Brent crude has soared well over 20% so far this year to hit a fresh seven-year high above $96/bbl, a level not seen since 2014.

How does the Ukraine crisis impact oil markets?