Oil prices Jumped in Asia on Friday after a Malaysia plane came down in war-ravaged Ukraine, while Israel launched a ground offensive into Gaza, adding to fears over global supplies.
Ongoing geopolitical events pushed prices higher by raising concern that oil supplies could become tighter, including further sanctions from the U.S. against Russia’s largest firms, the crash of a Malaysian Airlines passenger plane over Ukraine, and fighting in the Gaza strip.
- On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil added 0.50% to trade at $ 103.71 a barrel
- On the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil was at $ 108.33 a barrel, up by 0.40%
Speculation that flight MH-17 with 298 people aboard was shot down by pro-Moscow separatist rebels in Ukraine has fuelled concerns of an escalation of the conflict between the two countries.
Ukraine is a major conduit for Russian gas exports to Europe.
Investors are also keeping a wary eye on the events in Gaza after Israel began a ground operation late Thursday.
In other NYMEX trading:
- NYMEX Gasoline gained 0.48% to trade at $ 288.88
- NYMEX Heating Oil added 0.43% to trade at $ 287.13
- NYMEX Natural Gas rose 0.03% to $ 3.955