Oil Prices Jump, Shares Sink as Russia Edges Toward Ukraine’s Rebel Regions

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, US benchmark crude oil had advanced 4.9% to $94.64 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The price of Brent crude, the standard for international oils, jumped 3.9% to $99.07 per barrel.

US markets were 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.

The US and European Union condemned Russia and prepared to hit President Vladimir Putin's administration and supporters with sanctions. Western powers have feared Russia might use skirmishes in Ukraine's eastern regions as a pretext for an attack on the democracy, which has defied Moscow's attempts to pull it back into its orbit.

Russian President Vladimir Putin received no support from members of the UN Security Council at an emergency meeting Monday night for his actions to bring separatists in eastern Ukraine under Moscow's control.

So far, the biggest losses have been in Russia, where the MOEX index was down 5.4% early Tuesday after losing nearly 11% on Monday.

The rouble was 2.5% lower.

 In Asian trading, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index dropped 1.7% to 26,449.61 while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong regained some lost ground to close 2.7% lower at 23,520.00. South Korea's Kospi lost 1.4% to 2,706.79 and the Shanghai Composite index fell 1% to 3,457.15. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 1% to 7,161.30.

The turmoil in Ukraine has upped uncertainty at a time when investors already are jittery over how the world's central banks, especially the US Federal Reserve, will act to counter surging inflation while coronavirus outbreaks fuelled by the highly contagious omicron variant cloud the outlook for many countries.

Higher oil prices complicate that situation.

Many Asian economies depend on oil and gas imports, and even if those don't come from Russia, the spillover effects on world markets will raise energy costs at a time when countries are still barely recovering from the pandemic.

 “Crucially, while Russia may not be the most prominent source of direct energy imports for (emerging markets in) Asia, its sheer heft as a global producer/exporter means energy shocks emanating from Russian supply disruptions will nevertheless be disproportionally large," Mizuho Bank's Vishnu Varathan said in a report.

Treasury yields have been falling as investors shift money into the safety of US bonds.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which affects rates on mortgages and other consumer loans, was at 1.90% by early Tuesday, down from 1.93% on Monday.

In currency trading, the US dollar rose to 114.80 Japanese yen from 114.74 yen late Monday. The euro climbed to $1.1317 from $1.1312.

The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average both slipped 0.7%. The Nasdaq composite bore the brunt of the selling, skidding 1.2%. Small company stocks also fell, with the Russell 2000 index down 0.9%.