Oil Prices Jump 6% as Russia Attack Ukraine

Oil prices increased by more than 6% due to Russia’s military attack on Ukraine.

On Thursday, US crude futures rose 6.67 percent to $98.24 per barrel. Brent crude futures were up 6.95 percent at $103.57 per barrel, breaking through the $100 barrier for the first time since 2014.

Natural gas prices increased by 6.19 percent. In late trading, spot gold, traditionally regarded as a safe-haven asset, rose 1.79 percent to $1,941.61.

After months of military buildup along their shared border, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an attack on Ukraine early Thursday local time. The attack came days after Russian President Vladimir Putin formally recognized the independence of two pro-Russian separatist regions in eastern Ukraine. Explosions are heard in Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv. The United Nations Security Council met late Wednesday in New York.

Despite Russia’s attack, Matthew Smith, a lead oil analyst for the Americas at Kpler, believes there will be no immediate disruption in supply.

In a Wednesday report, Goldman Sachs stated the impact on the energy limit due to the escalation in Ukraine. While Europe imports a significant portion of its natural gas consumption from Russia, the United States is a net exporter of natural gas. Any spillover effects on US gas prices should be modest.

Gold Hits 20-Month High

Spot gold, traditionally a haven in times of uncertainty, rose 1.86 percent to $1,943.10 at the close.

Markets throughout Asia were in the red. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 1.81 percent to 25,970.82, while the Topix fell 1.25 percent to 1,857.58.

South Korea’s Kospi fell 2.6 percent to 2,648.80, while the Kosdaq fell 3.32 percent to 848.21. At its meeting on Thursday, the Bank of Korea kept interest rates unchanged at 1.25 percent. However, it forecasts that consumer price inflation will remain “substantially above 3 percent for some time.

The Shanghai Composite fell 1.7 percent to 3,429.96 in mainland China, while the Shenzhen component fell 2.2 percent to 13,252.24.