Crude oil prices rose again on Wednesday while Asian stocks struggled for footing as investors assessed the impact of the worsening conflict in Ukraine and a new US ban on Russian oil.
In Europe, however, shares were poised for a stronger open. Euro Stoxx 50 and German Dax futures were around 2 per cent higher and FTSE futures gained 1.36 per cent in early deals. "It's not really ... a risk-on rally. It's more that investors have got less reason to sell than they previously did, nothing's really come through to change sentiment around, and you've probably got some short covering in there," said Matt Simpson, senior market analyst at City Index in Sydney.
The price of a barrel of crude, already on the march higher in January on supply worries and expectations of a strengthening global economic recovery, has rocketed upward since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on February. 24th. Oil is now roughly double its early December low. Risking even higher U.S. fuel prices that could curb economic growth, US president Joe Biden on Tuesday imposed an immediate ban on Russian oil and other energy imports in retaliation for the invasion, amid strong support from American voters and lawmakers.
The ban caps sweeping US and European sanctions imposed on Moscow for launching the largest war in Europe since the second World War. Russian strikes have targeted Ukrainian cities and killed hundreds of civilians. Britain also announced it will phase out imports of Russian oil and oil products by the end of 2022. "The oil shock by nature is an accruing one, not a one-off, and the potential for the market to hit $150 before returning to $100 is easier for investors to digest," said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.
"Putting in force sanctions without first developing surrogate supply contingencies risks Brent crude (going) much higher." Global benchmark Brent was last trading at $130.38 per barrel, up 1.88% on the day but still off a peak of $139.13 touched on Monday. US West Texas Intermediate crude was up 1.52 per cent at $125.58 per barrel. Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a "special operation," and warned earlier this week that prices could surge to $300 a barrel and it could close the main gas pipeline to Germany if the West blocked its oil exports. In equity markets, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.10 per cent, as a sharp reversal in Chinese shares erased earlier gains.
China's blue-chip CSI300 index briefly dived as much as 4.6 per cent in the afternoon on what Zhang Yanbing, an analyst at Zheshang Securities, said was a technical acceleration near the market bottom. Chinese shares had struggled in the morning session following inflation data that showed a combination of soft domestic demand and high commodity prices, while coronavirus cases continue to rise. In Hong Kong, where infections have surged to record highs, the Hang Seng was last down 2 per cent. But broader regional losses were kept in check by gains elsewhere, with Australia's resource-heavy ASX 200 up 1.04 per cent and Taiwan shares up 1.13 per cent. In Tokyo, the Nikkei fell 0.3 per cent. "I think we're getting Russia fatigue. We've had 10-12 days now of bombardment of Russia headlines. And whilst it's tragic what's happening over there, at the same time I think we've priced in effectively the worst of the worst," said Simpson at City Index. - Reuters
