Original version

BBC World Service South Asia

World Business Report

Factual: Money

The latest business and finance news from around the world, on the BBC

The latest business and finance news from around the world, on the BBC.

BBC World Service Australasia

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa Schedule

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa

BBC World Service Online

BBC World Service schedule for American satellite radio and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean

BBC World Service

BBC World Service News Internet

BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East

BBC World Service West and Central Africa Schedule

BBC World Service West and Central Africa

BBC World Service East Asia

World Business Report: First broadcast 07/03/2022 22:32 GMT : Global oil prices surge again

Bulletins

Global oil prices surge again

First broadcast 07/03/2022 22:32 GMT 

First broadcast 07/03/2022 22:32 GMT : Global oil prices surge again

BBC World Service - World Business Report, Global oil prices surge again

Amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, the price of oil crossed the $130 a barrel mark

Amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, the price of oil crossed the $130 a barrel mark.

First on the programme, Dr Carole Nakhle is the Chief Executive of Crystol Energy and she discussed with us how the price of the main oil benchmark - Brent crude - surged on Monday, hitting $139 a barrel at one point. It has since pulled back to about $123. It’s not just oil - European natural gas prices rose 60% today to a fresh record. Russia is a major exporter of energy –  oil and gas revenues make up about half of the Kremlin's budget. European countries currently need to import it. The European Union imports about 40% of its natural gas from Russia and 25% of its oil.

Next, Velta's deputy chief executive is Olena Lesnyak and she tells us about the situation in Dnipro. In Ukraine, the eastern city of Dnipro has been shelled by Russian forces, but not on the same devastating scale as other towns and cities that have been heavily bombed. Despite the encroaching war, companies in Dnipro are trying to continue as best they can. Velta runs a titanium mine and processing complex in Ukraine and employs 650 people. Titanium is metal important for the aerospace, marine and car industries. Russia and Ukraine both produce the metal. 

Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the resulting sanctions on Moscow, is causing turmoil on financial markets. In the US, the technology-heavy Nasdaq index has now fallen 20 per cent from its peak, entering what's called a bear market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 10 per cent from its high point. Peter Jankowskis from Oakbrook Investments in Chicago in the US tells us why.

We then looked at what impact the invasion of Ukraine and western sanctions could have on the price of food. Russia is a producer of many of the raw materials needed for fertilizer - potash and phosphate, for example. According to the boss of one of the world's biggest fertilizer companies - Yara International - half the world's population gets food because of fertilizers. We here from Yara's boss -  Svein Tore Holsether and The BBC's Tamasin Ford in an extended report.

Nations last week voted overwhelmingly in Favour of a United Nations General Assembly motion to demand an immediate end to the invasion of Ukraine. 35 countries abstained on the resolution. Uganda was one of them. We asked Dr. Chris Baryomunsi , Uganda's minister for information, why his country abstained.

Producers: Gabriele Shaw and Benjie Guy 
Presenter: Rob Young 

(Picture: oil rig. Picture credit: Getty Images.)

Accessibility links

Programme Index

World Business Report

First broadcast 07/03/2022 22:32 GMT : Global oil prices surge again

Genres

Formats

Brand

BBC World Service South Asia

About BBC World Service