Volatility continues in global markets amid raging Russia-Ukraine war

By Aysu Bicer

ANKARA (AA) - Global markets remained volatile on Wednesday amid Russia's continued bombardment of Ukrainian cities, as well as mounting concerns on supply disruptions and inflationary shocks.

US President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Tuesday banning all imports of Russian oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and coal, while the EU says it intends to reduce the amount of gas imports from Russia by two-thirds within a year.

A temporary cease-fire between Russian and Ukrainian forces started on Wednesday for the evacuation of civilians from five major cities in Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the partial truce took effect in the cities of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, and Mariupol as of 10 a.m. Moscow time (0700GMT).

Wednesday's partial truce followed a similar halt in hostilities on Tuesday for the same five cities.

Accusations of cease-fire violations have plagued some evacuation efforts so far.

Some 2 million people have also fled to neighboring countries, said the UN refugee agency.

Given these developments, the UK has also announced it would gradually end its imports of oil and oil products from Russia until the end of the year.

Coca-Cola, McDonald's, and Starbucks became the latest global firms to suspend operations in Russia.

After these decisions, the barrel price of Brent oil tested $131.1, the highest since July 2018.

The ounce price of gold, on the other hand, is around $2,047 with a decrease of 0.2%, after a peak of a year and a half $2,070 on Tuesday.

Turmoil in commodities continues amid the conflict, exerting further inflation pressure on central banks to hike rates.

Analysts point out that since the US meets only about 8% of its total energy needs from Russian natural gas, Washington's latest move is not expected to have a major impact on its economy, while further decisions by Western countries may put more upward pressure on prices.

The trend towards safe havens may continue due to the ongoing low risk appetite, analysts have argued, drawing attention to the positive divergence in sector shares due to the increase in oil and gas prices.