LONDON: Most commodity prices remained on the boil on Tuesday as Russia's invasion of Ukraine escalated and Western sanctions disrupted air and sea transport, threatening flows of raw materials.
Crude oil extended gains above $100 a barrel, gas prices rocketed 17% and wheat surged 5% on fears that logistics problems will result in shortages.
Gold had eased when Russian and Ukrainian officials held ceasefire talks, but it rebounded 1% as safe-haven buying resumed after there was no agreement.
A huge Russian armoured column bore down on Kyiv after the lethal shelling of civilian areas in Ukraine's second-largest city raised fears that frustrated Russian commanders could resort to more devastating tactics.
There were rising worries about logjams in supply chains after several shipping groups halted activity to and from Russia while airlines cancelled cargo flights because of reciprocal airspace bans that hit both Russia and Europe.
"The current situation is highly volatile, with no sign of de-escalation, and the potential for existentially bad outcomes for all parties," Berenberg analyst Richard Hatch said in a note.
"Our base-case scenario is one ... with demand for commodities remaining strong and prices elevated for those commodities where Russia plays a material role in supply."
Gas soars
May Brent crude oil futures climbed about 4% to $102 a barrel as concern over supply disruptions outweighed talk of a coordinated global crude stocks release.
Even though sanctions have avoided directly touching Russian oil and gas, worries over disruptions sent Dutch front-month gas prices soaring by 17%.
Oil, wheat and aluminium jump after sanctions on Russia
"The fragile situation in Ukraine and financial and energy sanctions against Russia will keep the energy crisis stoked and oil well above $100 per barrel in the near-term and even higher if the conflict escalates further," Louise Dickson, senior oil market analyst at Rystad Energy, wrote in a note.
Metals also extended gains on worries over supply of palladium, aluminium and nickel, since Russian production accounts for global market shares of 40%, 6% and 7% respectively.
Palladium gained more than 3% as analysts said sanctions began disrupting shipments.
Aluminium hovered just below a record high of $3,525 a tonne touched on Monday while nickel also firmed.
Russian aluminium producer Rusal halted production at its Nikolaev alumina refinery in Ukraine, citing logistical challenges.
Supplies of energy-intensive aluminium and zinc could be further disrupted if European smelters decide electricity prices are too high to keep smelters running.
In agricultural markets, meanwhile, European Euronext wheat futures jumped more than 4% in early trade on worries about Black Sea feed grain and oilseed shipments being stopped by the crisis. Chicago wheat gained about 5% and corn climbed 3%.
Ukraine and Russia together account for about 29% of global wheat exports, 19% of global corn exports and 80% of world sunflower oil exports.
Malaysian palm oil futures vaulted more than 7% to a record peak on Tuesday on the prospect of rising demand as the closure of Ukrainian ports hits supplies of sunoil from the Black Sea region.
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