The Ukraine war is causing violent fluctuations in oil prices and financial markets worldwide.

On Monday night, the price of a barrel (159 liters) of North Sea Brent rose to a high of $139.13 (EUR 127.86) before falling to $128.77.

This still corresponded to an increase of more than nine percent.

Meanwhile, Asian financial markets plummeted, with gold prices soaring to more than $2,000.

Oil prices have not been this high since 2008.

The historic record price for a barrel of Brent is $147.50.

Since the start of the Ukraine war at the end of February, the price of Brent has risen by around a third.

Russian oil is finding fewer and fewer buyers in the West

The price of a barrel of the US grade West Texas Intermediate (WTI) due in April climbed to $130.50 on Sunday.

It then fell back to $125.15, still up more than 8 percent.

Russia is the world's third largest oil producer.

So far, however, the Russian energy sector has been exempt from international sanctions due to concerns about the economic damage caused by high oil prices for the West.

Nevertheless, Russian oil is finding fewer and fewer buyers in the West.

This further strengthens the upward trend in oil prices, which is characterized by growing demand as the global economy recovers from the Corona crisis.

For some time now, Ukraine has been calling on the West to stop importing raw materials from Russia.

Russian oil and gas "smells of Ukrainian blood," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told CNN on Sunday.

On Sunday, the US confirmed that it is discussing a ban with the EU.

There are "very active discussions" on the subject, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told US broadcaster CNN on Sunday.

Lindner against embargo

However, the federal government has again rejected such demands.

Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) spoke on Sunday on Bild TV against an embargo on raw material imports from Russia: "If we do without gas, oil and coal deliveries from Russia, this means that prices in Western Europe and in the world will rise dramatically due to the expected scarcity,” he said.

Lindner also doubted the effectiveness of an embargo on the war in Ukraine: "If an embargo on gas, oil and coal would change something about the specific situation in Ukraine today, then I would be in favor of an embargo." But that is not the case .

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) had previously made similar statements on ZDF.

In view of the ongoing Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, nervousness is growing on the markets.

The Japanese leading index Nikkei lost more than three percent on Monday morning (local time).

The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong even fell by more than four percent.

In view of the stock market losses, investors are relying on supposedly safe values ​​such as gold.

Gold prices broke above $2,000 on Monday, the highest since September 2020.