© Reuters Oil Keeps Rising as Russian Invasion Reverberates Across Markets
(Bloomberg) — Oil pushed higher above $120 a barrel after a wild open to the week as the U.S. considers a ban on Russian crude imports and global buyers continue to shun its shipments over the war in Ukraine.
The fallout has upended commodity markets and driven prices of everything from wheat to nickel and gasoline higher, increasing inflationary pressure on the global economy. Oil futures have rallied to the highest level since 2008 and traders and banks are betting prices will keep climbing.
Russian crude is becoming increasingly less welcome, with TotalEnergies SE saying its traders will no longer buy the nation’s oil and more offers lapsing without any bidders. Futures surged at the open Monday after the U.S. said it was considering a ban on the nation’s imports, though Germany said it has no plans to halt its supplies and South Korea unlikely to join in energy sanctions.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told NBC over the weekend that the White House is in “very active discussions” with Europe about a ban to tighten the economic squeeze on Putin, but most buyers are refusing to take it anyway, resulting in an embargo in all but name.
Surging oil prices and supply fears are also boosting fuel prices, with diesel futures in Europe and the U.S. touching the highest in decades. American pump prices are just cents away from an all-time high set 14 years ago.
Some cracks are starting to show across oil markets as soaring costs begin to bite. Signs of demand destruction are emerging with refiners across Asia considering cuts to processing as margins shrink. Freight rates have soared and Saudi Arabia has raised its official selling prices, increasing the pressure on refiners that had just recovered from the pandemic.
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Source: Investing.com
