INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
$300 a barrel, "catastrophic consequences" if Russian oil banned: MoscowOil prices see-sawed on Tuesday even as Ukraine peace talks made
little headway, torn between the prospect of a ban on Russian oil imports and Russia's warning crude costs could rise to $300 a
barrel.After the third attempt by Russia and Ukraine at talks in Belarus, a Ukrainian negotiator said although little progress on agreeing
with logistics for the evacuation of civilians had been made, things remained essentially unchanged.Benchmark Brent crude oil, which briefly
hit more than $139 a barrel in the previous session, jumped around in morning trade on Tuesday and was up nearly 1 per cent at about $124
per barrel.United States crude was up about 0.4 per cent at $119.86 a barrel
At the same time, prices of other commodities, including nickel, rose as industrial buyers and traders scrambled with the Russian-Ukraine
conflict showing no signs of cooling.Crude oil prices spiked to their highest levels since 2008 on Monday after United States Secretary of
State Antony Blinken said Washington and European allies were considering banning oil imports from Russia in response to its invasion of
Ukraine.A Reuters report showed Western countries could face oil prices of over $300 per barrel and the possible closure of the main
Russia-Germany gas pipeline if governments follow through on threats to cut energy supplies from Russia, according to a senior minister on
Monday."It is absolutely clear that a rejection of Russian oil would lead to catastrophic consequences for the global market," Russian
Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said in a statement on state television."The surge in prices would be unpredictable
It would be $300 per barrel if not more."Mr Novak said it would take Europe more than a year to replace the volume of oil it receives from
Russia, and it would have to pay significantly higher prices.The rally in oil and other commodities prices will only increase the global
inflationary pulse."Global risk sentiment started the week deeply negative, before improving as European leaders indicated they would resist
sanctions on Russian energy exports, preferring instead a determined strategy to reduce dependency on Russian imports," ANZ analysts said in
a note."Markets are volatile, however, and highly sensitive to shifts in tone
The progressive rise in breakeven inflation rates is evidence of mounting inflation concerns as commodity prices remain firmly underpinned,"
