As Ukraine conflict deepens, oil prices rise, stocks fall

TOKYO (AP) – Oil prices jumped and stocks plummeted Monday as the conflict in Ukraine deepened amid growing calls for harsher sanctions on Russia.

Brent crude oil briefly rose above $130 a barrel but traded around $125 a barrel late Monday. Benchmark US crude also rallied, gaining $10 and then giving up some of those gains.

European markets opened lower and futures in the US fell 1.7%. Gold prices rose above $2,000 an ounce as investors bought the precious metal seen as a safe haven in times of crisis.

Russian forces fired missiles at several Ukrainian cities even after Moscow announced another ceasefire and proposed several humanitarian corridors that would allow civilians to flee Ukraine starting Monday. .

A similar temporary ceasefire in two Ukrainian cities failed over the weekend – and both sides blame each other.

US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House is considering legislation to further isolate Russia from the global economy, including banning its imports of oil and energy products into the US.

Oil prices came under further pressure after Libya’s national oil company said an armed group had shut down two key oil fields. The move caused the country’s daily oil production to drop by 330,000.

But reports say US officials may be considering easing sanctions on Venezuela. That is likely to free up more crude and ease concerns about reduced supply from Russia.

US crude rose $6.92 to $122.60 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The all-time high was marked in July 2008, when the price per barrel of US crude oil rose to $145.29.

That pushed the average price of gasoline in the US above $4 a gallon, a milestone that has been reached once again. The price of regular gas rose by nearly 41 cents, breaking the $4 per gallon (3.8 liter) average nationwide on Sunday for the first time since 2008, according to motor club AAA.

Brent crude, the international pricing benchmark, hit $139.13 a barrel before falling again on Monday. It traded up $6.57 at $124.68 a barrel in London.

In early European trading, France’s CAC 40 fell 3% to 5,879.70, while Germany’s DAX lost 3.2% to 12,675.43. Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 1.4% to 6,890.71. US shares have started the week down, with futures on both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 down 1.8%.

Higher fuel costs are ravaging Japan, which imports almost all of its energy. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 2.9% to 25,221.41.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 3.9% to 21,057.63, while South Korea’s Kospi fell 2.3% to 2,651.31. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.0% to 7,038.60. while the Shanghai Composite lost 2.2% to 3,372.86.

Yeap Jun Rong, market strategist at IG in Singapore, said: “The Ukraine-Russia conflict will continue to dominate market sentiment and there is no sign of conflict resolution so far which could put a limit on the market. risk sentiment in the new week,” said Yeap Jun Rong, chief market strategist at IG in Singapore.

“It should be clear that at present economic sanctions will not prevent any aggression on the part of Russia, but will act as more of a punitive measure with consequences affecting global economic growth. Rising oil prices could pose a threat to corporate profit margins and the outlook for consumer spending,” Yeap said.

China reported on Monday that its exports rose by double digits in January and February before Russia’s attack on Ukraine rocked the global economy.

Customs data showed that exports were up 16.3% from a year earlier in a sign that global demand was recovering ahead of President Vladimir Putin’s February 24 invasion. increased by 15.5% despite China’s economic slowdown due to the war, which is likely to be aggravated.

China’s No. 2 leader, Premier Li Keqiang, warned global conditions on Saturday were “severe, unstable and uncertain” and that achieving Beijing’s economic goals would require asked “hard effort”.

Markets around the world have recently turned wildly on worries about how high prices for oil, wheat and other commodities produced in the region will be due to Russia’s aggression, increasing already high inflation of the world.

The list of companies leaving Russia has grown to include Mastercard, Visa and American Express, as well as Netflix.

The conflict in Ukraine also threatens food supplies in several regions, including Europe, Africa and Asia, which rely on large, fertile agricultural lands in the Black Sea region, destined for known as “the loaf of the world”.

Wall Street ended last week with stocks falling despite a much stronger-than-expected US jobs report. The S&P 500 index fell 0.8 percent to 4,328.87, recording its third weekly loss in the last four. It is now just under 10% down from the record set earlier this year.

In currency trading, the US dollar rose to 115.08 Japanese yen from 114.86 yen. The euro is priced at $1.0830, down from $1.0926.