HONG KONG: Equity markets plunged Monday, while oil prices soared to a near 14-year high and safe-haven gold broke US$2,000 as investors grew increasingly fearful about the impact of the Ukraine war on the global economy.
Trading floors were a sea of red in early exchanges with experts warning of a period of stagflation with the spike in crude likely to light a fire under already high inflation.
The commodity at one point rocketed almost 18% to $139.13 — a level not seen since mid-2008 — after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the White House and allies were in talks about banning imports from Russia.
With the country the third-biggest producer of oil, such a move would compound a supply crisis just as demand takes off. Other…
