Oil prices soar 10% and stocks plunge as US and Europe consider ban on Russian crude
Oil prices have soared more than 10% and are closing in on their all-time high levels after the risk of a US and European ban on Russian crude threatened a stagflationary shock for world markets.
The global benchmark of Brent crude hit US$139.13 a barrel at the start of trading on Monday, a leap of more than $20 on Friday’s close of $118.03.
The all-time of $147.50 was reached in July 2008 but some analysts think that mark could be surpassed because of the geopolitical impact of the Ukraine crisis.
Stock markets headed the opposite way with more big losses when trading began on Monday. The Nikkei in Tokyo was down more than 3%, as was the Hang Seng in Hong Kong. In futures trade, the FTSE100 off 2.6% and the S&P500 down 1.3%.
The panic on trading floors sent safe havens sharply higher, with gold hitting as much as $2,000.86, its highest since mid-2020.
Although the oil price slipped back to $130 after the initial surge, consumers still face higher household energy and petrol costs, while inflation will rise across the board if businesses are forced to pass on higher fuel expenses.
The price of natural gas is closely linked to crude oil and is sure to lift again. Gas prices set a new record high mark on Friday in the UK, for example, when national balancing point (NBP) benchmark soared above 500p a therm.
<p lang=«en» dir=«ltr» xml:lang=«en»>CHART OF THE DAY: The Brent crude oil market, since the launch of futures in June 1988 to today (nominal prices). The high today was $139.13 a barrel, still below the all-time high of $147.50 a barrel set in July 2008. #OOTT #Ukraine pic.twitter.com/VynyshFCt8Having climbed 21% last week, Brent crude was further energised by the risk of a ban of Russian oil by the US and Europe.
Mohamed
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