The threat of new sanctions on Russian oil causes the stock exchanges to collapse: energy prices soar

The leap of oil and gas

Investors have been frightened by the jump in oil, with Brent brent reaching $ 140 a barrel, its highest since 2008, in the wake of the US threat to block imports of Russian crude. The slowdown in Germany, which defined Russian supplies as “essential” for Europe, caused Brent to fall back, which in any case remained above 120 dollars, closely followed by the WTI. In Amsterdam, gas surged to € 345 (+ 79%) and closed at a new high of € 227 (+ 18%).

–

At the highest the price of wheat But there are many records marked by commodities, from palladium, to copper to nickel. Whilst wheat, of which Ukraine and Russia are major producers, broke through its all-time high in Paris after Hungary introduced grain export controls. The latter news that alarmed the production chains while a spokesman for the EU Commission reiterated that “the free circulation of goods and services in the internal market is our most important resource to guarantee supplies throughout the EU” and “possible measures restrictive must be limited to what is strictly necessary and strictly proportionate “. For Goldman Sachs, the energy rush will eat up 1.2% of European GDP but in the event of a reduction in Russian supplies, the impact, referable only to gas, will rise from 0.6% to 1%, to touch the 2.2% in the “most adverse” scenario of a complete shutdown of the taps.

The greater exposure of the European economy to that of Russia was manifested in the weakness of the euro, which fell to 1.087 against the dollar, and in the dip of the single currency below par with the Swiss franc. Nothing compared to the rout of the ruble, which sanctions are annihilating (today it touched a minimum of 162 on the dollar when it was quoted at 75 at the beginning of 2022) while a Russian debt default is increasingly considered probable on the market.

–