Russia remains the major supplier of oil and gas to Europe, and while many EU leaders have imposed sanctions on Russia, there is no guarantee that many will want to boycott the Russian crude oil products.
As the Russian-Ukrainian war rages on, the United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken has called for the boycott of Russian crude oil and natural gas products.
As reported by CNBC, Blinken is notably in active talks with European governments about this boycott and the news has weighed down on the region’s stock market with imminent value depression.
The pan European index, STOXX Europe 600 (INDEXSTOXX: SXXP) plunged 3.71% to 406.12 as the German DAX PERFORMANCE-INDEX (INDEXDB: DAX) printed a 4.96% loss to 12,445.45. The value shed-off was quite evident across the board as the CAC 40 (INDEXEURO: PX1), the index which represents a capitalization-weighted measure of the 40 most significant stocks among the 100 largest market caps on the Euronext Paris, plunges 3.89% to 5,825.65.
The FTSE 100 Index (INDEXFTSE: UKX) dropped 121.93 points atop a 1.75% loss to 6,865.21. The assault on Ukraine by Russian forces seems not to be ending soon with President Putin’s fighters aiming to take over the capital city Kyiv.
While Ukrainian forces are forming a massive resistance to the Russian army, President Volodymir Zelensky’s call on NATO to declare Ukraine a no-fly zone has yielded little to no fruits, giving Russian fighter jets the leverage to fly almost unhindered.
European Stock Dip and Oil Prices Surge
Boycotting Russian oil by the West will imply a huge payday for other crude oil products. As a result of this, the prices of oil products are almost at their highest levels since 2008. The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is up 6.5% to $123.2, the Brent Crude is being sold at $125.7 per barrel atop a 6.44% increase.
Russia remains the major supplier of oil and gas to Europe, and while many EU leaders have imposed sanctions on Russia, there is no guarantee that many will want to boycott the Russian crude oil products.
Should the boycott come into play, it will cause what is referred to as “Stagflation” which is a period of slow economic growth and high unemployment coupled with high inflation – for the global economy.
The entire trend in the global stock market outlook has also stirred a massive sell-off in Asian stocks with the Hang Seng Index (INDEXHANGSENG: HSI) dropping 3.87% to 21,057.63 while the Shenzhen component plunged 3.43% to 12,573.44.
While investors in various continents see the current market uncertainties being fueled by the ongoing geopolitical tension between Russia and Ukraine, the sell-offs are poised to help them refocus their strategy so their capital or resources would not count as one of the casualties of the ongoing war.
Benjamin Godfrey is a blockchain enthusiast and journalists who relish writing about the real life applications of blockchain technology and innovations to drive general acceptance and worldwide integration of the emerging technology. His desires to educate people about cryptocurrencies inspires his contributions to renowned blockchain based media and sites. Benjamin Godfrey is a lover of sports and agriculture.
