New Delhi, March 15 (TIWN) Commodity prices were already on a steady rise in 2021 and early 2022 thanks to the loose monetary policies several leading countries adopted during the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, the Ukraine–Russia conflict that broke out on February 24 has spread panic waves through the world of commodities and resulted in an all-out commodity price shock globally.

During 2021, the crude oil prices had steadily climbed from $60 levels to $85 due to fast growing demand and inability of supplies to keep pace.

However, the ongoing conflict has resulted in Brent crude oil prices jumping to $130 per barrel in first half of March 2022 – their highest level since 2008.

Natural gas, unlike crude oil, is a regional market due to supply constraints. The price of natural gas in Europe hit an all-time high on March 7, briefly touching 345 euros per megawatt-hour. That's equivalent, in terms of British thermal units of energy, to oil prices of $600 per barrel.

The Steel Futures traded on NCDEX stood largely below Rs 25,000 per tonne between until 2020. They jumped to an average of around Rs 45,000 during 2021. But the conflict resulted in steel futures jumping to Rs 62,500 level in March 2022.

Among the non-ferrous metals, nickel is an important non-ferrous metal used in making stainless steel, coins, dry batteries and many other industrial uses. Nickel prices rose gradually from $15,000 per tonne to $20,000 during 2021.