Investors are racing to cut their exposure to oil dependent industries, as the highest crude price in more than a decade raises fears for the global economy and deals a fresh blow to sectors that were only just emerging from the pandemic.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has unleashed turmoil across commodity markets, sending Brent crude oil to levels not seen since shortly before the financial crisis of 2008 and driving European gas prices to new highs.
The prospect that energy prices could leap even higher if other countries were to follow the US in imposing an oil embargo on Russia — and the Kremlin were to retaliate by turning off its own supply of crude and gas — has left financial markets on edge.
Companies caught in investors’ crosshairs stretch from airlines to those that rely on oil for their manufacturing processes. American Airlines has been hit hard, with its shares down by almost a fifth this month and its debt among the worst performers in the junk bond market.