The USA and the UK ban Russian oil imports as Gold price approaches all-time high

The USA and the UK announced measures to ban Russian oil imports in order to isolate Russia from the global economy. This follows on from sanctions imposed on Russia’s top oligarchs and government officials along with its central bank in a bid to push against Russia’s war on Ukraine. The market responded to the news with a volatile trading session.

In the USA the NASDAQ finished the day down 0.28% after it had made a 2.6% during the middle of the day. The Dow Jones finished the day in a similar way finishing down 0.56% and the S&P 500 down 0.72%. The European markets were flat with the FTSE down 0.067% and the DAX down 0.024%. The VIX index also reached 37 and is at its highest level since the start of the pandemic.

Commodities

On the back of the oil imports ban from Russia, Brent Crude jumped 7.7% at $132.75 before settling to $123.21. As a reference in 2021, the USA imported 8% of if its total oil imports from Russia. Other commodities such as Nickel and Palladium continued their runs as bearish investors closed their positions causing a short squeeze.  Gold was able to push through the $2000 resistance and touched its all-time high of $2075. Gold will be one to watch as the US Federal Reserve is poised to release its CPI figures on Friday. With record levels of volume being transacted through gold, it is worth keeping watch on.

4-hour gold chart below:

Bitcoin had another relatively flat day rising by .64% in the BTC/USD pair. Ethereum performed better with ETH/USD rising 3.28% although it could not finish above the previous day’s highs. The USD/AUD pair continues its grind up moving 0.63% as it moves to test resistance. The USD/EUR looks to be consolidating although it did finish the day down 0.39%. The USD/JPY climbed for the second straight day climbing 0.32% as it continues tightening its range.