It could get even more expensive to drive to the grocery store for milk or keep your home warm this winter if Russia makes good on its saber-rattling along the Ukraine border, analysts say.
Should Russia invade and Western countries make good on their threats of strict sanctions, already rising oil prices, currently $95 a barrel, could hit $125, said Bob Yawger, executive director of Energy Futures for Mizuho Americas.
“There is no spare capacity,” he said in a note to investors. If those sanctions curtail Russia’s access to foreign exchanges and prevent it from exporting commodities, it will push oil prices higher. “I would assume the Western Powers would sanction Russian energy assets.”
Prices at the pump are likely to rise near-term either way, Patrick De Haan, head of Petroleum Analysis for GasBuddy, said. “Certainly $100 oil is a strong possibility even without a Russian incursion into Ukraine. All the alarm bells would be going off if it happens. A Russian invasion of Ukraine certainly would put upward pressure on gasoline prices,” he said.
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