Russia\u2019s attacks on\u00a0Ukraine\u00a0roiled global\u00a0markets\u00a0Thursday, driving up prices for crude oil and\u00a0natural gas\u00a0as\u00a0investors\u00a0flood into\u00a0gold\u00a0and government debt - traditional safe havens.<\/p>\n
Brent crude, the global oil-price benchmark hit $102, topping $100 a barrel for the first time since 2014.<\/p>\n
The wild moves come after Ukrainian authorities said that Russia had launched a \u201cfull scale invasion\u201d on the country. Russian president Vladimir Putin said that his country had launched a special military operation\u201d in Ukraine.<\/p>\n
Investors rushed towards safer assets, including gold, driving the precious metal up around 1.7 per cent, its highest level since early 2021, meanwhile silver rose 2.3 per cent based on popularly traded futures contracts.<\/p>\n
Natural gas prices rocketed around the world as news of the Russian attacks emerged. In some European markets, prices jumped as much as 30 per cent. The region, including the EU\u2019s largest economy, Germany, is highly dependent on Russian energy imports.<\/p>\n
Stock markets across Asia dropped significantly, with Hong Kong\u2019s Hang Seng Index down 3 per cent.<\/p>\n
Russian stocks listed on Moscow\u2019s Moex index fell by more than 28 per cent, the most on record.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"