Prices soared early in the session after Russian forces in Ukraine seized Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in what Washington called a “reckless” attack that threatened to cause disaster. A fire in a training building was put out and officials said the site was safe..
Gains increased after the administration of US President Joe Biden said it was looking at options to stop US imports of Russian oil, and was studying possible measures to reduce the impact on global supplies and consumers..
Crude prices have jumped more than 20 percent since the United States and its allies imposed sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. Russian oil sales have been turbulent, with sellers struggling to close deals even though they are offering deep discounts on benchmark Brent crude prices..
The price of Brent crude jumped $7.65, or 6.9 percent, when it settled to $118.11 a barrel.
US West Texas Intermediate crude rose $8.01, or 7.4 percent, to $115.68 a barrel upon settlement.
That was the highest closing level for Brent since February 2013, and the highest for US crude since September 2008.