BANGKOK: Oil prices surged nearly 5% and stock prices dropped after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered forces into separatist regions of eastern Ukraine, bringing a long-feared invasion a step closer.
Russia is a major energy producer and the tensions over Ukraine have brought wide swings in volatile energy prices, on top of the inevitable risks of a broader conflict.
Oil prices already had surged recently to their highest level since 2014. By early Tuesday, the advance of U.S. benchmark crude oil had abated slightly. It was up $3.66, or 4.1%, at $93.87 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The price of Brent crude, the standard for international oils, gained $2.71, or 2.9%, to $98.10 per barrel.
U.S. trading was closed Monday for Presidents Day, but markets in Europe and Asia shuddered as Putin moved to secure Russia’s hold on Ukraine’s rebel regions, adding to fears of a full-scale invasion.
Those actions have undermined hopes for averting a conflict that could cause massive casualties, energy shortages on the continent and economic chaos around the globe.