LONDON —
Oil prices surged close to $100 per barrel Tuesday as major crude
producer Russia prepared to send troops into two breakaway regions of Ukraine,
sparking Western nations to ready economic sanctions against Moscow.
اضافة اعلان
After heavy falls at the open,
European stocks edged into
positive territory, as the Kremlin said it remained open to all diplomatic
contact over Ukraine.
Asian stock markets had earlier ended their sessions with
heavy falls.
Brent North Sea crude oil reached $99.50 per barrel, the
highest level in seven years.
At around 11:15am GMT, it pulled back to just below $98,
still a gain of around 2.5 percent compared with late Monday.
"The intensifying crisis between
Russia and Ukraine has
raised concerns about the supply disruptions that would ensue as sanctions look
set to cripple Russia, the world's second largest oil exporter and the world's
top natural gas producer," noted Victoria Scholar, head of investment at
Interactive Investor.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he was suspending the
Nord Stream 2 pipeline project with Russia in response to Moscow's recognition
of breakaway regions Donetsk and Lugansk.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had demanded an
immediate halt to the project, set to pipe Russian natural gas to Germany via
the Baltic Sea.
Zelensky said Russia must be punished for its recognition
Monday of Ukraine's two separatist-held regions with "immediate
sanctions" that include "the complete stop of Nord Stream 2".
It comes as the
US, Britain and the EU prepared to launch
economic sanctions on Russia.
"Our response will be in the form of sanctions, whose
extent the ministers will decide," EU foreign policy chief
Josep Borrell
said.
Russia's recognition of the breakaway regions of
Ukraine will meanwhile "strongly increase" economic uncertainty for the EU,
the bloc's economy commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said.
Russian troops were believed to be deploying into Donetsk
and Lugansk in eastern Ukraine, after Russian
President Vladimir Putin issued
decrees ordering his army to assume "peacekeeping" functions in the
separatist territories.
Oil surge
The jump in oil prices is compounding worries about
inflation around the world, with the
US Federal Reserve coming under intense pressure
to tighten monetary policy to prevent prices running out of control.
That has in turn battered equity markets in recent months,
and the latest developments out of Europe led to another day of hefty selling
on Tuesday.
Russia's MOEX index plunged eight percent at the open,
having lost 10 percent Monday.
The ruble though recovered after sharp losses against the
dollar.
Haven investment gold climbed past $1,900 an ounce before
pulling back.
Away from the
Ukraine crisis, German auto giant Volkswagen
on Tuesday said it was drawing up plans to list its luxury brand Porsche as it
looks to raise the funds for its move to electric vehicles.
In London, HSBC bank announced bumper 2021 profits and plans
to repurchase shares worth up to $1 billion as the Asia-focused bank continues
its recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and major restructuring.
Read more Business
.jpg)
.jpg)
