The world bags, foreign exchange and haven assets fell after the launch of a Russian military offensive against Ukraine.
Thus, the price of a barrel of oil exceeded 100 dollars this Thursday, rising 8.78%, for the first time in more than seven years. The crude Brent advanced 2.6% to $99.36 a barrel; Meanwhile in New Yorkthe West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for April delivery rose 8.66% to $100.10.
European stocks fell sharply from the first exchanges. Towards noon, the Frankfurt parquet lost more than 5%, followed by Milan and Paris (almost -4%), and Madrid and London, with a loss of around 3%.
Moscow’s capital park fell more than 25% and the Russian currency, the ruble, reached its historical low against the dollar, before the intervention of the Russian central bank.
The negative trend was also installed in Asia. Hong Kong lost 3.21%, Tokyo closed with a drop of 1.81% and Shanghai, down 1.70%.
Meanwhile, the New York Stock Exchange opened sharply lower on Thursday as investors turned away from equity markets seeking safer havens following the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In early trading, the Dow Jones was down 2.30%; the tech-heavy Nasdaq index fell 2.74%, and the broader S&P 500 index fell 2.32%.
Insurance assets are valued
The threat of war sparked fears about the supply of basic goods, such as wheat and metals.
This Thursday, the price of cereals broke a record for operations in Europe and wheat rose to a maximum of 344 euros per tonne on the Euronext platform.
Wheat and corn, of which Ukraine is the world’s fourth-largest producer, rose sharply at the open, just hours after Russia launched an invasion of Kiev.
On the other hand, assets considered safe havens, such as gold, rose 2.31% to 1,953 dollars an ounce; the dollar and the Japanese yen also appreciated.
“Russian-Ukrainian tensions cause a possible demand shock [en Europa] and a greater shock in the supply for the rest of the world, given the importance of Russia and Ukraine in energy”, highlighted Tamas Strickland of the National Australia Bank.
For a Swissquote analyst, “the rise in energy prices is a major headache for Europe, because 40% of its natural gas and 30% of its oil come from Russia.”
Regarding natural gas, the reference market in Europe grew 21% more than the day before.
With information from AFP
Source: Larepublica
Kingston is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
