Ukraine crisis: Oil prices surge as US and Britain cut off Russian crude

Oil prices surged on Tuesday as the United States and Britain moved to ban Russian oil imports, a decision that is expected to worsen disruptions in the global energy market as Russia is the second-largest exporter of crude.

“How high can oil prices go? Pick a number, this is a market in disarray,” said Mike Tran, analyst at RBC Capital Markets, in a note early on Tuesday.

Benchmark Brent crude for May shot up $7.55, or 6.1%, to $130.76 a barrel by 10:56 a.m. EST (1556 GMT). US crude for April delivery was up $7.38, or 6.2%, at $126.78 a barrel.

Britain said it will phase out the import of Russian oil and oil products by 2022.