Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a sharply worded speech on Thursday, denounced “traitors and scum” at home who helped the West and said the Russian people would spit on them like mosquitoes, raising market tension for fear of prolonging the conflict.
Brent crude futures jumped $2.43, or 2.3 percent, to $109.07, and US West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose $2.75, or 2.7 percent, to $105.73 a barrel.
Despite the recovery, the two benchmark contracts are heading to end the week with a decrease of about 4%, and prices have fallen from their highest levels in 14 years, which they reached nearly two weeks ago.
“I still expect more volatility, there is still a lot of uncertainty,” said Justin Smirk, chief economist at Westpac in Sydney.
Analysts said Putin’s speech, and comments by a Kremlin spokesman who said a report indicating significant progress in peace talks, was incorrect, and US President Joe Biden called his Russian counterpart Putin a “war criminal”, all of which led to a wave of buying on Thursday. .