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Oil Rallies Amid Russia-Ukraine Crisis: ETFs to Bet on

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Oil prices have been rallying amid the Russia-Ukraine geopolitical crisis. The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures recently increased 6.06% to $97.14 per barrel in Asia trade. Also, the global benchmark Brent crude oil has risen 5.24% to $103.06 per barrel.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has launched a military operation in Ukraine on early Feb 24. In response, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has imposed martial law across the country. The West has continued to isolate Moscow by imposing several sanctions on Russian banks, its sovereign debt, and Russian President Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

In the latest development, representatives for Ukraine and Russia have given the nod for peace talks on the Ukraine-Belarus border without imposing any preconditions, per Ukraine’s Defense Ministry. Meanwhile, Putin asked his country’s nuclear deterrence forces to remain on high alert on Feb 27. Apart from putting economic sanctions, countries have been extending their support to Ukraine by closing their airspace to Russian aircraft.

Russia’s move is leading to a rise in oil prices as it is among the world’s largest suppliers of oil and natural gas. Russia stands as the world’s second-largest oil producer. European refineries procure most of their crude oil supplies from Russia. Notably, Russia also provides about two-fifths of its natural gas supply to Europe. In fact, Russia emerged as the largest natural gas and oil supplier to the European Union in 2021. Not only crude oil but the prolonged war between Ukraine and Russia can also result in constrained supplies of edible oil.

Against this backdrop, investors can take a closer look at the oil commodity space and its related ETFs (see all Energy ETFs here): United States Oil Fund (USO - Free Report) , Invesco DB Oil Fund (DBO - Free Report) , United States Brent Oil Fund (BNO - Free Report) and United States 12 Month Oil Fund (USL - Free Report) .

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