NEW YORK, N.Y. Brent crude oil prices surged to a near 14-year high of $140 per barrel on Sunday, as traders worried about the consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Brent North Sea crude oil for May delivery hit $139.13 right away when electronic trading started at about 2300 GMT. It edged closer to a record high set in 2008, but then fell back a little over the next hour.
In July 2008, European benchmark crude reached a record high of $147.50 per barrel.
By 0030 GMT, Brent oil had fallen slightly further to $128.77 per barrel, up 9.02 percent from Friday’s close.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, the price of Brent oil has soared by 33%.
The New York Mercantile Exchange’s benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude oil also increased to $130.50 per barrel for April delivery on Sunday. It, too, gradually decreased over the following hour and a half.
By 0030 GMT, WTI crude was trading at $125.15 per barrel, up 8.18 percent from Friday’s close.
On Sunday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Washington was in “active talks” with European countries about putting more economic sanctions on Moscow, but he didn’t say that they would stop buying Russian oil.
Even though oil is theoretically not subject to sanctions, Russian oil producers are having difficulty finding clients. Shell is one of the few firms that continues to purchase Russian oil, despite its pledge to contribute the proceeds to Ukrainian organisations.
When asked about it Sunday on CNN, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba encouraged Shell and other energy companies to “stop purchasing Russian oil” and cut off Moscow’s largest funding source.
“Russian oil and gas have a distinct odour of Ukrainian blood,” he said.
