russian troops on the move and so are global markets. asia shares closing down sharply. stock index futures bracing. this will be the first chance for u.s. investors to respond to a weakened of worsening russia headlines. putin s obsession with ukraine sent stocks tumbling last week. the dow alone lost more than 650 points last week. john, that s nearly 2%. the big reaction is in the oil markets. u.s. crude prices jumping more than 5%. global crude prices up to nearly 100 bucks a barrel. russia is the world s second producer of oil and natural gas. any supply disruption from fighting or sanctions would raise global energy prices. a direct impact on the u.s. also higher gas prices. and higher gas prices already here. seven-year high, the national average is more than 3.50 per gallon, up 20 cents in the past month. but it s not just at the pump. all energy costs will spike, home heating, electricity, airplane fuel and other business transportation costs and that will drive all consumer
sanctioned two big banks and began cutting off rush that from western finance. this is just the beginning. germany halted certification of the nord stream 2 gas pipeline that would connect germany with russia. the eu depends on russia for a third of its natural gas. a crisis in europe has implications for everyone, john. it s a global market for energy. any supply disruption from fighting or sanctions could raise prices further. brent crude 96 bucks a barrel. incident was near $100 a barrel. gas prices above $3.50 on average. expect $4 by summer. president biden pledged to use every tool to blunt gas prices but acknowledged they are coming. it s not just energy. food costs could also rise. russia is the world s largest supplier of wheat. ukraine is called the bread basket. together they make up a quarter of global exports.
$2.69 a year ago. no sign of that slowing down. roger is a major oil producer in other spheres of supply disruption. in an effort to offer relief for drivers and others feeling the impact of higher oil prices, president biden says his administration is coordinating with a number of countries to elevate movies up strategic petroleum reserve. united states will reduce additional pairs of oils conditions none what. [inaudible] republik and calling on the biden administration to stop restricting u.s. oil production. shutting down the keystone pipeline and oil and gas in this country while they were incomprehensibly green biting the deal for the russians.
insurance package, and this will be our insurance policy against supply disruption. similarly, the leaders also discussed food prices and global also discussed food prices and global food security. and here too the commission will come forward with options to address these important issues. putin s wore has also fundamentally altered europe s security also fundamentally altered europe s security environment. to defend europe, security environment. to defend europe, we will need different forces europe, we will need different forces and different capabilities. significant additional defence investments in europe will be needed, investments in europe will be needed, and i welcome that some leaders needed, and i welcome that some leaders have announced ambitious steps leaders have announced ambitious steps to leaders have announced ambitious steps to increase defence spending, more steps to increase defence spending, more will steps to increase defence spending, more wil
hello again. you are with bbc news. i m sally bundock. time now for the top business stories. twilight of the oligarchs. more sanctions on russia s superrich, but ukrainians tell the west it must stop buying russian, russian oil and gas. inflation alert, higher prices for everything, once the head of the world bank, and it is the portable southernmost. wheat prices soar on fears of massive supply disruption. ukraine and russia make up a third of global exports. plus, trade offs, as more companies around the world refused to do business with russia, what is the financial cost of taking a