NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks fell worldwide on Thursday after Russia’s attack of Ukraine sent fear coursing through markets and upped the pressure on the high inflation already squeezing the global economy.
Beyond its human toll, the conflict looks set to send prices rising even higherat gasoline pumps and grocery stores around the world. Russia and Ukraine are major producers not only of energy but also grains and various other commodities. War could upend global supplies, as could sanctions brought by the United States and other allies.
Oil prices on both sides of the Atlantic jumped toward or above $100 per barrel to their highest levels since 2014, up more than 5%. As with stocks, prices in Europe swung more sharply than in the U.S. Wholesale prices also shot higher for heating oil, wheat and other commodities. The spot price in Europe for natural gas, for which the continent relies on Russia to supply, jumped as much as 31%.
The Fed was already saddled with the incredibly difficult task of raising interest rates enough to stamp out high inflation but not so much as to choke the economy into a recession. Strategists at Evercore ISI said that risk still remains, and has become even more complicated by the attack on Ukraine, but that it’s “substantially greater in Europe relative to the US.”
Navy Vet
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