Crude oil rises after Ukraine hits Russia with U.S.-made, longer-range missiles

Crude oil futures rose slightly on Tuesday, after Ukraine struck Russia with longer-range, U.S.-made missiles.

The strikes came after President Joe Biden authorized Ukraine to use the longer-range missiles for limited strikes in Russia in a major departure from Washington’s previous position.

Russia’s defense ministry said Tuesday that Ukraine hit a facility in the Bryansk region with six ATACAMS missiles as tensions escalate in Eastern Europe. In response, President Vladimir Putin lowered Moscow’s threshold for using nuclear weapons.

Equity markets fell on the rising geopolitical risk, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbling more than 300 points.

Here are Tuesday’s energy prices as of 10:17 a.m. ET:

• West Texas Intermediate December contract: $69.65 per barrel, up 49 cents, or 0.71%. Year to date, U.S. crude oil has declined nearly 3%.
• Brent January contract: $73.83 per barrel, ahead 53 cents, or 0.72%. Year to date, the global benchmark has lost about 4%.
• RBOB Gasoline December contract: $2.0452 per gallon, higher by 1.33%.Year to date, gasoline has fallen nearly 3%.
• Natural Gas December contract: $2.977 per thousand cubic feet, adding 0.13%. Year to date, gas has gained more than 18%.

While oil prices were little changed Tuesday, crude futures rose about 3% on Monday on fears that the war between Ukraine and Russia was intensifying.

Biden’s decision to allow the use of U.S.-made missles to hit targets in Russia came just two months before he departs office. President-elect Donald Trump campaigned on ending the war in Ukraine.

Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine roiled global energy markets in 2022 as European nations sought to end their dependence Russian natural gas.