Oil prices in Japan rise sharply amid crisis around Ukraine

Oil prices in Japan rose on February 14 to their highest level since the end of October 2014 amid rising tensions around Ukraine, Report informs citing TASS.

Oil approached the mark of 63,000 yen (almost $546) per kiloliter (about 6.289 barrels), according to the trading data at the Tokyo Commodity Exchange.

The increase in prices is related to fears about a possible reduction in oil exports from Russia if the US and other Western countries introduce tough economic sanctions against Moscow. Investors also believe that the EU countries may expand the use of petroleum products if they face a decrease in natural gas supplies from the Russian Federation due to the conflict in Ukraine.

Rising oil prices have already led to a rapid rise in the price of gasoline and diesel fuel in Japan. The country’s government was forced in connection with this to introduce a system of subsidies for wholesalers, encouraging them to limit price increases.