Warning that fuel prices could rise by 5p per litre
ENERGY prices on the world markets jumped yesterday as turmoil in Ukraine pushed panicked traders to snap up supplies.
Petrol prices could rise by as much as five pence per litre, the RAC warned, as Russia’s actions threaten to squeeze the supply of energy.
Such a jump would reverse much of the fall in prices for households over the past year, pushing a litre up to around 135p once more.
Gas prices also shot up yesterday, as Russia supplies around 20 per cent of Europe’s gas requirements, with its pipelines running through Ukraine. Brent crude oil prices jumped 2.13 per cent while the RBOB gasoline index rose 1.61 per cent and the ICE gas oil rose 2.15 per cent.
Supply concerns may help drive profits for UK companies like SSE, Drax and E.ON, analysts at Morgan Stanley said.
Investors flooded into safer assets like gold in a bid to escape the turmoil in other commodities.
The rush sent shares in gold miners Randgold Resources up 4.34 per cent and African Barrick Gold five per cent.
Gold futures jumped two per cent. As well as energy, Russia is also a major world supplier of wheat.
The turmoil pushed up the commodity’s price by 4.86 per cent on the day.
Problems with Russian supply have hit markets hard in the past – food prices around the world rocketed in 2010 on severe droughts in the country.