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* FTSE 100 up 0.6%, FTSE 250 up 0.1%

* Oil prices jump 4% after Iranian strikes

* J.P. Morgan predicts BoE rate pause through 2026

* Close Brothers to cut 600 roles by fiscal 2027

March 17 (Reuters) - The UK's FTSE 100 inched higher on

Tuesday on the back of gains in energy and heavyweight

financials even as the conflict in the Middle East raged on,

while investors awaited the Bank of England's interest rate

decision this week.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 rose 0.6% by 1042 GMT, while

the mid-cap FTSE 250 rose 0.1%.

Iran expanded its strikeson the UAE as the U.S.-Israel war

with Tehran entered its third week, disrupting Gulf oil flows

through the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. allies also refused President

Donald Trump's request to help reopen the crucial waterway,

sending oil prices 4% higher.

The energy sector rose 1.1%, trading at a

record high. Majors BP and Shell advanced over

1% each, clawing back some ground lost on Monday.

Heavyweight banks gained 0.6%, while

utilities followed with a 1.4% rise.

British borrowing costs dipped for a second day but remained

well above levels seen before the Iran war, with markets now

pricing roughly 50% odds of a Bank of England hike in November.

Investors' focus this week will be on interest rate

decisions in the UK, the U.S., and Europe and comments from

policymakers on how they intend to navigate the potential

energy-driven inflationary pressures.

Most economists polled by Reuters abandoned their rate cut

calls for March, now expecting a 25-basis-point cut in April or

June. J.P. Morgan, however, expects the BoE to keep rates

unchanged through 2026, with the next cut only in the first

quarter of 2027.

Among individual stocks, Close Brothers fell 10.4%

to the bottom of the mid-cap index after the lendersaid itwill

cut 600 roles by fiscal 2027.

Trustpilot ( TRTPF ) jumped 23% after the global online

review platform said it had quadrupled its annual profit.