Iraq exported $11.07 billion of oil last month, the highest level for half a century, as crude prices soared amid shortfall fears following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the oil ministry said.

Inflation in Europe soared to another record, according to new EU figures released Friday, in a fresh sign that rising energy prices fueled by Russia’s war in Ukraine are squeezing consumers and adding pressure on the central bank to raise interest rates.

Weeks after returning from Russia amid sanctions triggered by Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, Emomali Safarov has swapped construction tools for a video camera and his old low-paid journalism job in Tajikistan’s capital Dushanbe.

Diesel was no longer on sale across Sri Lanka on Thursday, crippling transport as the crisis-hit country’s 22 million people endure record-long power blackouts.

The OPEC group of oil producing countries and its Russia-led allies agreed on another modest oil output increase on Thursday, ignoring Western pressure to significantly boost production as the Ukraine conflict has rocked prices.

Russia’s top lawmaker warned the European Union on Wednesday that if it wanted Russian natural gas then it would have to pay in roubles, and cautioned that oil, grain, metals, fertiliser, coal and timber exports could also soon be priced the same way.

Oil prices clawed back heavy losses to rise more than 2 per cent on Wednesday on supply tightness and the growing prospect of new Western sanctions against Russia even as signs of progress emerged from peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv.

India has cut coal supplies to the non-power sector and put on hold plans for some fuel auctions for utilities without supply deals due to a slump in inventories, even as the country battles a seasonal jump in demand for electricity.

The German government’s economic advisers slashed their growth forecast for 2022 on Wednesday, warning that the war in Ukraine and soaring energy prices would take a toll on Europe’s biggest economy.

The Kremlin indicated on Wednesday that all of Russia's energy and commodity exports could be priced in roubles, toughening President Vladimir Putin's attempt to make the West feel the pain of the sanctions it imposed for the invasion of Ukraine.

Japan will ban the export of high-end cars and other luxury goods to Russia in its latest response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the trade ministry said on Tuesday.

Russia reiterated Tuesday that it will only be accepting payment for gas deliveries to the EU in roubles after G7 ministers called this arrangement  “unacceptable”.

The Russian rouble strengthened to a more than one-month high in Moscow trade on Tuesday, firming past 88 to the dollar, while stocks regained some ground in the fourth session since trading resumed after a near month-long suspension.

In an endless field in southwest Ukraine, farmers began to plant sunflower seeds at the start of the sowing season, but a fuel shortage threatens production in the war-torn country, whose land feeds millions around the world.

The energy ministers of Saudia Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, key members of Opec+, said on Tuesday the producers’ group should not engage in politics as pressure mounted on them to take action against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

The United States and its allies plan new sanctions on more sectors of Russia’s economy that are critical to sustaining its invasion of Ukraine, including supply chains, Deputy US Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said on Tuesday.

Danish shipper Maersk said the Shanghai lockdown will severely hurt trucking services and increase transport costs, as China’s intensifying efforts to fight the spread of Covid-19 further rattles global supply chains.

As a bleak first quarter draws to a close, crypto seems to have the wind in its sails. It has pushed through the $2 trillion barrier and is proving surprisingly resilient amid global chaos.

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, better known as Sinopec, is planning its highest capital investment in history for 2022 after recording its best profit in a decade, echoing Beijing’s call for energy companies to raise production.

Beijing’s close ties with Moscow may be rattling foreign investors. A study by the Institute of International Finance found that China has been experiencing “unprecedented” capital flight since Russia invaded Ukraine.