Rising prices for oil, gasoline, natural gas, and precious metals like nickel and palladium are fueling concerns about a slowdown in global growth. Paired with soaring inflation, investors could be facing a risk-off period.
“The Russia/Ukraine conflict, commodity price spikes, inflation concerns, and a very uncertain Fed outlook
have caused recession fears to rapidly intensify and equity markets to sell off sharply,” said Chris Senyek, Wolfe Research chief investment strategist, in a note.
WTI crude oil jumped about 4% to near $124 a barrel on Tuesday as NBC News reported the U.S. is set to ban Russian oil as soon as Tuesday.
Oil prices spiked to start the week with U.S. crude hitting a 13-year high of $130.
The international benchmark, Brent crude, reached a high of $139.13 at one point overnight Sunday before settling at $123.21 per barrel, its highest since July 2008. Brent most recently was up 3.4% to $127.36.
The jump in crude is already starting to hit consumers’ wallets. The national average for a gallon of regular gas rose to $4.173 on Tuesday, according to AAA. The prior record was $4.114 from July 2008, not adjusted for inflation.
