With the 'full-scale war' between Russia and Ukraine, the oil price, on Thursday, rose to $102 a barrel, for the first time since September 2014. The global oil benchmark, Brent crude, rose over 5 percent to trade at $102.27 a barrel.
A corresponding increase of over 5 percent at $97.06 a barrel was witnessed with West Texas Intermediate. Benchmark European gas prices jumped as much as 41pc to €125 a megawatt-hour in their fourth consecutive day of gains, while the UK equivalent surged by a third. Fears have been mounting throughout the week that a conflict could disrupt energy supplies to Europe. Germany has already suspended its approval of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which would have doubled inflows of gas from Russia. Oil prices jumped past $100 a barrel for the first time since 2014, while prices in commodities ranging from wheat to aluminium also surged amid concerns supplies of raw materials from the region could be upended. Russian forces had on Thursday unleashed an attack of Ukraine on the orders of Vladimir Putin, who announced a "special military operation" at dawn, amid warnings from world leaders that it could spark the biggest war in Europe since 1945.
READ ALSO: Oil Hits 14-month High After OPEC+ Extends Output Cuts Within minutes of Putin's short televised address, at about 5am Ukrainian time, explosions were heard near major Ukrainian cities, including the capital Kyiv.
The scope of the Russian attack appears to be massive. Ukraine's interior ministry reported that the country was under attack from cruise and ballistic missiles, with Russia appearing to target infrastructure near major cities such as Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mariupol and Dnipro. Explosions from artillery rockets lit up the night sky as shelling began near Mariupol, video showed. A senior adviser to Ukraine's interior ministry said that it appeared Russian troops may soon move on Kharkiv, which is about 20 miles from the border. Locals in Kyiv sought safety in bomb shelters as explosions were heard outside the city. 'Privilege' Air raid sirens sounded over the capital and residents of Kharkiv sheltered in the city's metro, scenes that haven't been seen in those cities since 1941.
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