How sensitive commodity markets are to any disruption in supply. Currently, commodity prices have been fluctuating wildly. Inventories from copper to natural gas and soybeans are tight, which is disrupting the global supply chains and fueling inflation. Russia is a global center for the production of oil and gas, as well as the production of many industrial metals and food crops. Ukraine is also a major player, with its pipeline network that most exports of Russia's oil and gas need to pass through, also a large amount of wheat and corn.

The physical flows of commodities have been disrupted. Oil traders are looking for alternative sources of Russian crude, according to one of the world's largest tanker companies. Ukrainian ports and railways have been closed, and wheat and metal exports are in chaos.

Meanwhile, with inflation at the highest level in nearly 40 years in the US, and inflation at the record level in Europe, consumers can't afford another  increase in the cost of food, transportation, and consumer goods. Some analysts have even raised their concern about stagflation, marked by a period of low growth or stagnation and high inflation, something not seen in most major economies since the oil shocks of the 1970s.

The severity of the shortages puts pressure on other suppliers to respond. But few countries have been able to quickly ramp up the production of metals and crops, or even gas and oil. Among these countries, OPEC, and Saudi Arabia in particular, are likely to come under intense pressure to stabilize global oil markets by adding spare capacity. But the decision will be complicated by the cartel's new alliance with Russia over the past few years.