Oil Tops $110, Equities Sink on Rising Ukraine War Fears

Oil Tops $110, Equities Sink on Rising Ukraine War Fears

Crude surged past $110 a barrel Wednesday and equities sank with investors growing increasingly fearful about the Ukraine war's impact on global energy supplies and the economic recovery.

Vladimir Putin's invasion of his neighbor has sent world markets into a spiral over the past week, further fraying nerves on trading floors caused by runaway inflation and tighter central bank monetary policies, AFP reported.

The crisis has seen numerous countries hammer Moscow with a series of wide-ranging sanctions that have isolated Russia and threaten to crash its economy.

The measures have injected a huge amount of uncertainty into markets with supplies of crucial commodities including metals and grains soaring. The price of global staple wheat is sitting at a 14-year high -- having risen 30 percent in the past month.

But the main source of unease on trading floors is crude, which has rocketed since Russia began preparing to invade. On Wednesday Brent topped $110 for the first time since 2014, while WTI moved closer to that figure.

Incoming sanctions have fueled worries that exports will be cut off from Russia, the world's third-biggest producer of the commodity.

The conflict in eastern Europe comes with prices already elevated owing to tight supplies and a strong recovery in