Households across North Africa are rushing to stock up on flour, semolina and other staples as food prices rise following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, both key wheat exporters to the region.

Venezuela’s oil output could rise by at least 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) if the United States authorizes requests by state-run PDVSA’s partners to trade Venezuelan crude, the country’s petroleum chamber said on Friday.

The world economy’s fragile recovery from the Covid-induced crisis is now threatened by Russia’s war in Ukraine and soaring commodity prices.

Russia urged India to deepen its investments in the sanction-hit country’s oil and gas sector, and is keen on expanding the sales networks of Russian companies in Asia’s third-largest economy.

The United States and its allies moved Friday to end normal trade relations with Russia, as President Joe Biden vowed the West would make Vladimir Putin “pay the price” for his invasion of Ukraine.

The Group of Seven industrialised nations on Friday urged countries not to limit their food exports over the war in Ukraine after a meeting of their agriculture ministers to discuss the crisis.

While the rest of Europe grapples with surging prices, in Switzerland inflation is so tame that some key costs are actually falling.

The gusher of money the US government poured into family bank accounts during the coronavirus pandemic, credited with speeding the rebound from the health crisis, may now help limit the economic damage from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Acerinox became the latest steel producer to halt operations in Spain on Thursday due to surging energy prices caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine.

US President Joe Biden has ordered the federal government to look into creating a digital dollar, a move with the potential to reshape how money is moved and used around the world.

Consumer price inflation in Russia, which has been accelerating for months, hit a six-year high in February, Russia’s national statistics agency said Wednesday.

Oil prices bounced on Thursday from a sharp drop in the previous session after the United Arab Emirates backtracked on statements saying that OPEC and its allies might increase output to help to plug the gap in exports from Russia.

European Union leaders will tackle ways to wean themselves off Russian fossil fuels on Thursday and debate how quickly to ditch their key supplier, with countries split over whether to sanction oil and gas imports as Moscow wages war in Ukraine.

Russia announced Thursday an export ban on more than 200 types of foreign-made products and equipment until the end of the year, part of Moscow's response to sanctions imposed over the Ukraine conflict.

Russian firms have encountered problems in securing financing for April contracts to sell crude and oil products, but the situation can be resolved, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency on Thursday.

German Economy Minister Robert Habeck on Tuesday issued an  “urgent appeal” to OPEC oil producers to ramp up output following a spike in prices and supply fears due to the Ukraine crisis.

Already struggling with rising living costs, Europeans now face an even deeper hit to their livelihoods as the conflict in Ukraine pushes fuel and food prices higher and threatens to underminze a fragile economic recovery.

Coca-Cola and PepsiCo are suspending business in Russia, the soft drink giants announced Tuesday, as corporations and Western governments penalize Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.

Crude prices surged Tuesday as the US banned Russian oil imports, while nickel prices rocketed to a record peak on Russian supply fears.

A jump in oil and auto imports in January combined with a sharp drop in exports caused the US trade gap to widen again in January, according to official data released Tuesday.