WTI crude futures: surged more than 4% to around $96 per barrel on Tuesday, a level not seen since September of 2014, on worries about possible supply disruptions amid escalating tensions in Europe.
President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into two Moscow-backed separatist regions of eastern Ukraine after announcing that he would recognize their independence, a move that was condemned as a violation of international law and Ukraine’s sovereignty by several nations.
Meanwhile, investors continued to monitor efforts to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement after a senior European Union official said Friday a deal was “very, very close.” Analysts suggested that a potential deal could add more than 1 million barrels a day of Iranian crude to the market.
