New York
CNN Business
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The war in Ukraine is raging. The oil market is panicking.
Russian oil has not been directly targeted by the West’s crushing sanctions on Moscow — so far, at least. In fact, the United States and Europe have gone out of their way to avoid hitting Russia’s fossil fuels.
But the market is taking no chances when it comes to Russian oil. Traders, shippers, insurance companies and banks don’t want to touch the stuff, for fear of running afoul of Western sanctions.
This means that a considerable amount of Russian oil has been effectively sidelined — precisely what the West didn’t want to happen. Prices for oil and gasoline have skyrocketed.
“The sanctions have led to a de facto ban on Russian…
