New Delhi

Lower supplies as well as hostilities between Russia and Ukraine pushed Brent crude oil price to nearly an 8-year high on Wednesday. Besides, robust global demand is expected to keep the Brent-index crude oil price high.

Consequently, crude oil prices have surged by nearly 15 per cent in the last two days on fear of tight supplies. On Wednesday, the Brent-indexed crude oil prices rose to over $111 per barrel on Wednesday. It had risen to $102 per barrel on Tuesday from Monday's $98 per barrel mark.

At present, Russia is the third largest producer of crude oil in the world. It is feared that sanctions against Russia will curtail global supplies and stifle growth. "Global crude oil prices extended gains with Brent oil prices trading near the highest levels since July 2014, at $111 per barrel,"said Tapan Patel, Senior Analyst (Commodities), HDFC Securities. "The western sanctions on Russia have made several traders opt out from Russian oil.The market is rallying on lower supply despite oil release from IEA, as release of 60 million barrels will account for only 6 days of Russian supply."

According to IIFL Securities VP, Research, Anuj Gupta: "We are expecting it may trade further higher towards $115 to $125 levels." In addition, Kshitij Purohit, Lead of Commodities and Currencies CapitalVia Global Research: "There are concerns about potential global supply disruptions from a tightening set of sanctions imposed on Russia." "Brent markets have followed suit and we are now trading above $111."

ALSO READ: Putin will pay high price for invading Ukraine: Biden