Oil prices rise by about 5% after US sanctions on Russian oil giants

The oil markets witnessed a significant rise in trading on Thursday afternoon, with crude futures increasing by about 5%, amid fears of a decline in global supply of black gold.

The gains came after the United States announced sanctions on the two Russian oil companies "Rosneft" and "Lukoil", raising expectations of a shortage in global supplies.

As of 15:15 Moscow time, the futures for American crude "West Texas Intermediate" for December rose by 5.01% to reach $61.47 per barrel, while the futures for "Brent" blend for the same month increased by 4.63% to $65.49 per barrel, according to trading data.