Oil prices surge $5 per barrel despite release of supplies

BEIJING (AP) — Oil prices have surged another $5 per barrel after an agreement by major economies to release supplies from strategic stockpiles failed to calm market anxiety over Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Benchmark U.S. crude rose $5.24 per barrel to $108.60 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international price standard, gained $5.43 to $110.40 per barrel in London. The United States and other members of the 31-nation International Energy Agency, the club of major oil consumers, agreed Tuesday to release 60 million barrels of crude from stockpiles in hopes of calming markets.