The price of oil jumped more than $10 a barrel Monday (March 7, 2022) as the conflict in Ukraine deepened amid mounting calls for harsher sanctions against Russia.
TOKYO: The price of oil jumped more than $10 a barrel Monday (March 7, 2022) as the conflict in Ukraine deepened amid mounting calls for harsher sanctions against Russia.
Brent crude oil briefly surged over $10 to nearly $130 a barrel early Monday. Benchmark U.S. crude was up nearly $9 at more than $124 a barrel.
The surge followed a warning from Russian President Vladimir Putin that Ukrainian statehood was imperiled as Russian forces battered strategic locations.
A temporary cease-fire in two Ukrainian cities failed, and both sides blamed each other.
U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House was exploring legislation to further isolate Russia from the global economy, including banning the import of its oil and energy products into the U.S.
Amid rising gasoline prices in the U.S., the Biden administration has yet to call for an oil import ban on Russia.
In a letter to Democrats released Sunday night, Pelosi says the legislation under consideration would also repeal normal trade relations with Russia and Belarus and begin the process of denying Russia access to the World Trade Organization.
Pelosi says the House would also empower the Biden administration to raise tariffs on Russian imports.
Congress intends to approve the Biden administration's request for $10 billion in humanitarian, military and economic support for Ukraine, Pelosi said, as part of omnibus government funding legislation this week.
