Oil surges close to $140 a barrel

Equity markets plunged Monday, while oil prices soared to a near 14-year high and safe-haven gold broke $2,000 as investors grew increasingly fearful about the impact of the Ukraine war on the global economy.

Trading floors were a sea of red, while experts warned of a period of stagflation with the spike in crude likely to light a fire under already high inflation.

The commodity at one point rocketed almost 18 per cent to $139.13 -- a level not seen since mid-2008 -- after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the White House and allies were in talks about banning imports from Russia.

With the country the third-biggest producer of oil, such a move would compound a supply crisis just as demand takes off. Other commodities sourced from the region such as wheat and metals were also sharply higher.