Russia-Ukraine crisis: Oil prices surge $5 per barrel despite release of supplies

Oil prices surged another $5 per barrel on Wednesday after an agreement by the United States and other major governments to release supplies from strategic stockpiles failed to calm market anxiety over Russia’s attack on Ukraine.

Benchmark US crude rose $5.24 per barrel to $108.60 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent crude, the international price standard, gained $5.43 to $110.40 per barrel in London.

“Markets dismissed the notion that 60 million barrels of strategic reserves released will be consequential to the risks of Russian supply jeopardized,” Tan Boon Heng of Mizuho Bank said in a report. “Russia pumps more than that in just six days.”