Oil jumps to $105, gas prices soar and global stocks fall after Ukraine invasion – Business Live | Business

Time for a raid.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has caused turmoil on the ground and in financial markets. This triggered a sell-off in global equity markets. Prices for oil and natural gas and other commodities such as wheat, as well as gold, palladium and other precious metals jumped as investors feared supply disruptions.

They piled into gold, European and US government bonds, which are seen as safer investments in times of trouble. Russian assets sold off, from the ruble to stocks and bonds.

UK and European stock indices fell between 3% (FTSE 100 index) and 5% (German stock market).

Crude Brentthe global oil benchmark, rose above $105 a barrel for the first time since August 2014. It now stands at $104.50 a barrel, up almost 8%.

British gas for next day delivery jumped 40% to £280 per therm.

European wheat futures jumped 20% to a record price of €344 a tonne, the biggest rise in nine years. Ukraine is the fifth largest wheat exporter in the world and considered the breadbasket of Europe. This does not bode well for consumers – food and energy prices are already high.

Gold and the prices of other precious metals, including palladium, platinum and nickel, have surged. Spot gold gained more than 3% today to $1,969 an ounce. Aluminum reached a record of $3,443 per ton in London.

The Russian Ruble hit a record low of 80.60 to the dollar, but then recovered somewhat to 83.4, still down 2.7% on the day, after the Bank of Russia said it would intervene to strengthen the currency. The ruble is trading at 93.7 per euro, down 2.2%.

Russian stocks fell 50% when trading resumed on the Moscow Stock Exchange. The dollar-denominated RTS index fell 49.93% in early trading and then traded down 34%. The ruble-denominated Moex index fell 45% to 1,690.13, then 31%.

Listed in London Russian companies suffered sharp drops in share price, with Sberbank plunging 61% and Gazprom losing 28%.

As Russian public debt liquidated, yields on benchmark 10-year OFZ ruble bonds (which move inversely to prices) hit 10.93%, the highest since early 2016.

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