Oil prices jumped as high as 5 per cent on Friday to reach nearly $95 per barrel, the highest in eight years, after the US warned that Russia could invade the Ukraine soon.
U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Washington believes Vladimir Putin could invade Ukraine any day now and issued a dire warning to Americans still in the country: Get out immediately because the U.S. will not be coming back to rescue anyone.
'We continue to see signs of Russian escalation, including new forces arriving at the Ukrainian border. As we've said before, we are in the window when an invasion could begin at any time,' Sullivan said on Friday, sending the markets reeling.
The U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures, the national oil benchmark, reached $94.66 per barrel, the highest level since September 2014, and closed at $93.90 per barrel, a total 4.47 per cent increase.
The international oil benchmark also saw a 4 per cent increase on Friday with prices ending at $95.12 per barrel.
The U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures, the national oil benchmark, closed at $93.90 per barrel, a total 4.47 per cent increase
Oil prices shot up after National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan warned on Friday afternoon that Russia could soon begin an invasion in Ukraine
A satellite image taken by Maxar Technologies shows a Russian deployment at Zyabrovka airfield in Gomel, Belarus, less than 15 miles from the border with Ukraine. Russia has readied about 120,000 soldiers along the border
A Russian tank takes part in drills in a photograph released by the Russian Defense Ministry
Oil prices had already been up by more than 2 per cent following the International Energy Agency's report this week that global demand for oil would hit a record 100.6 million barrels per day in 2022 as COVID restrictions ease.
Rebecca Babin, of the CIBC Private Wealth investment firm, told CNBC that the market had been keeping its eye on the Russian-Ukraine conflict, but investors were not expecting tensions to rise as fast as they have.
'The market has been concerned about this outcome for several weeks but most believed it would not occur or would at least be after the Olympics,' Babin said.
'The key consideration for crude will be what kind of sanctions the US and allies move forward' should Russia invade.
'That is what will ultimately determine how crude supply is impacted,' she told CNBC.
The market volatility hit Friday afternoon when Sullivan announced that a Russian invasion in Ukraine 'may well happen soon.'
'If a Russian attack on Ukraine precedes it is likely to begin with aerial bombing and missile attacks that could obviously kill civilians now with regard to their nationality,' he said.
'A subsequent ground
