London — World stocks held at a one-year low on Tuesday, while gold climbed above $2,000 an ounce as the prospect of a ban on Russian oil imports pushed up crude prices and raised concerns of soaring inflation and slowing economic growth.
The MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 50 countries, was down 0.2% and has lost 10% since early February. It was down as much as 0.5% in early Asian trading, hitting its lowest level since March 2021. Brent crude, which briefly hit more than $139 a barrel in the previous session, was up about 2.6% at $126.42 a barrel.
US crude ticked up 1.8% at $121.55 a barrel, while prices of many other commodities, including nickel, continued to rise as industrial buyers and traders scramble as the Russian-Ukraine conflict shows no sign of cooling.