I don’t know if you noticed yesterday, but West Texas Intermediate crude futures jumped to $130.50 per barrel.

They retreated to $123.09 from there. But that kind of activity isn’t exactly the greatest sign of where the oil market is headed.

Likewise, Brent crude futures reached $139.13 before “dropping” to $126.30.

I know I reported on California gas prices a few workdays ago – which have now hit $5.28 per gallon on average – but it’s not alone in paying $4 or more at the pump now. The national average is officially $4, its highest price point in almost 14 years.

That’s also a $0.40 jump week-over-week and a $0.47 increase month-over-month. And according to CNBC, we’re destined to see more of the same since:

Russia is a key producer and exporter of oil and gas. While Western allies’ sanctions have so far carved out room for Russia’s energy trade to continue, the market is self-sanctioning – in other words, buyers are avoiding Russian products. According to estimates from JPMorgan, 66% of Russian oil is struggling to find buyers. This is creating supply fears in what was an already tight market prior to Russia’s invasion.

And Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates, said the next stop for the national average is $4.50 a gallon as supply disruptions ripple across the energy complex.

World Bank President David Malpass also weighed in on the matter, telling Cavuto: Coast to Coast on Friday that sanctions from the U.S. and Europe affects not only oil but food as well since “both Russia and Ukraine were big providers of food.”

Moreover, “as banks stop working with Russia… it changes the trade lines going on”. So much so that, as Bloomberg reports, some oil traders are betting on $200-a-barrel oil by the end of March.

The World According to REITs

With Visa (V) and Mastercard (MA) joining the list of companies that have suspended or otherwise altered their operations in Russia, The Wall Street Journal reports:

Russian banks that have been cut off from global payments networks are turning to China’s state-owned UnionPay system as the country tries to sidestep boycotts by Western businesses for its invasion of Ukraine…

Sherbank (SBRCY), Russia’s largest bank by assets, Alfa Bank and Tinkoff Bank said Sunday they were working on the possibility of issuing cards powered by China’s UnionPay. Another Russia lender, Gazprombank, said customers can do cross-border transactions by getting cards that use UnionPay or Japan’s JCP system.

The one bit of solid good news I can provide in all of this is that mortgage rates, at least, declined recently on all of that information. In the week ending February 24, 30-year fixed rates fell 13 basis points (bps) following a smaller slide the previous week.

As for real estate investment trusts (REITs)…

We have one earnings straggler to report in the form of INDUS Realty Trust (INDT). It recorded Q4 FFO of $0.38 per share with a 98.4% leased portfolio of industrial/logistics assets – where 100% of its industrials division is rented out. INDT ended the year with $250.3 million of liquidity and says it will be selling its remaining office/flex buildings going forward.

Since there are quite a few updates today, I’ll call that one a “freebie.” In which case, here are your official three:

• SL Green Realty (SLG) says it signed 26 leases covering 452,433 square feet in January and February. This included with a global information services company, UN Women, and independent banking firm EC Mergers & Acquisitions, all for 10-year contracts. SLG also named Carol Brown to its board as an independent director.
• Sunstone Hotel Investors (SHO) promoted CFO Bryan Giglia to the role of CEO, while Senior VP of Finance and Treasurer Aaron Reyes will take over as CFO through August. In addition, SHO added “president” to CIO Robert Springer’s company titles. And it notified its unsecured lenders that it will be ending the covenant relief period for the amended debt agreements governing its revolving credit facility, term loan facilities, and senior unsecured notes.
• Welltower (WELL) formed a joint venture with Related Companies and Atria Senior Living to develop two world-class senior living communities in Silicon Valley – with more projects planned down the road. Meanwhile, it intends to broaden its partnership with StoryPoint Senior Living, including by purchasing three senior living portfolios with 33 communities that StoryPoint will then operate.

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(Source: The Daily REITBeat)