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ENERGY AND BEYOND
It is a well-known fact that Russia is important when it comes to energy. Today, European natural gas and electricity prices jumped more than 10% on fears of an imminent invasion.
However, the impact of any conflict could have far wider implications, most notably across industrial metals such as palladium, aluminum, and nickel.
The tensions are also stoking fears of disruptions to food supplies, as Russia and Ukraine account for a quarter of the global wheat trade and about a fifth of corn sales, according to Bloomberg.
Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said today that Russia had ignored formal requests to explain the build-up of troops but a meeting has been requested within the next 48 hours for transparency about Russia's plans.
So for now, we wait
MAP THAT MATTERS
INFLATION WORSE STILL TO COME
The recent boost oil has received from increased geopolitical tensions comes at the worst possible time, as surging inflation compounds the squeeze on global supply chains.
HSBC said, “With inflation currently at multi-decade highs and uncertainty surrounding the inflation outlook already unprecedented, the last thing the recovering global economy needs is another leg higher in energy prices”.