Oil prices soared on Thursday, with the Russian military’s air and ground attack on Ukraine propelling US WTI to over $100 a barrel, and Brent to over $105 a barrel, the first since 2014.
Around 10:40 a.m., the price of a barrel of Brent from the North Sea for delivery in April, the benchmark for black gold in Europe, soared 8.78% to 105.34 dollars.
In New York, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for April delivery climbed 8.66% to 100.10 dollars.
Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine at dawn on Thursday, with airstrikes across the country, including the capital Kiev, and the entry of ground forces from the north, east and south of the country.
Russia is one of the world’s leading producers of gas and oil, panicking investors regarding possible disruptions in energy supplies.
Two days following recognizing the independence of Ukrainian separatist territories in Donbass, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave the signal for hostilities. “I made the decision for a special military operation,” Mr. Poutine announced in a surprise statement on television before 6:00 a.m. (10:00 p.m. Quebec time).
At least 40 soldiers and a dozen civilians were killed Thursday in the early hours of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to Kiev.
The offensive sparked an international outcry to which Moscow remains deaf.
“Moscow’s intentions to launch a military attack on its neighbor had been announced in recent weeks”, which, “amid wider supply shortages, helped support the rally in oil prices”, comments Ricardo Evangelista , analyst at ActivTrades.
“If a full military assault is launched, confirming the most feared scenario,” he continues, “oil supply shortages are likely to worsen and further price increases are to be expected.”
Russia is also the world’s largest exporter of natural gas. The Old Continent imports regarding 40% of its needs from Russia.
The benchmark market in Europe, the Dutch TTF (Title Transfer Facility) was trading at 118.10 euros per megawatt hour (MWh), gaining almost 33% in one day.
