Oil prices surge as market weighs release of reserves

Oil prices surged on Tuesday as concerns over supply disruptions after Russia's invasion of Ukraine and related sanctions outweighed talks of a coordinated global crude stocks release.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. and other major oil-consuming countries were weighing the release of 70 million barrels of oil from emergency stockpiles in response to surging crude prices.

Members of the International Energy Agency, a Paris-based group whose members include most industrialized nations, could agree as early as Monday or Tuesday to tap their national strategic oil reserves, the report said. The Journal reported it would include 40 million barrels from the U.S.

Oil prices had jumped after the U.S., the European Union and the U.K. over the weekend said they would block some Russian banks from the SWIFT messaging system, a move that makes it more difficult for countries to purchase Russian oil.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will meet on Wednesday and are anticipated to to make a decision on April oil production levels to maintain a gradual increase to supplies.