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Metals and oil markets reacted to Russia sanctions
Summary
A look back at 9 March 2022, with commodity prices and energy diplomacy shaped by the war in Ukraine in the days before.
What had the war in Ukraine already done to the world beyond the battlefield by 9 March 2022? The reports from the preceding days pointed to human cost in Ukraine and to turbulence in global commodity markets.
On 3 March 2022, eight civilians were reported killed in the city of Izium. As reported at the time, the central hospital was heavily damaged by a Russian missile strike.
Metals hit records
On 7 March 2022, metals markets registered new highs. Aluminium reached a record of about $4,000 per tonne on the London exchange, and nickel a record of about $55,000 per tonne. Nickel rose 90% during intraday trading. Copper also hit a new high, at $10,845 per tonne, while palladium reached $3,440 per ounce.
Russia is a substantial producer of all of these metals. Markets expected shortages as the country faced further sanctions.
Looking beyond Russian oil
On 6 March 2022, the United States began talks with Venezuela about supplies of its oil, which was under sanctions. The aim was to substitute for Russian crude. So far, the talks had yielded few results.
Taken together, the reports from those days showed a war whose effects were felt in a hospital in Izium, on the London metals exchange and in diplomatic contacts over energy supplies.
