Retailers in Russia will limit sales of essential foodstuffs to limit black market speculation and ensure affordability, the government said Sunday, as sanctions imposed over Moscow’s military incursion into Ukraine began to bite.

The International Monetary Fund on Saturday said it expected to bring Ukraine’s request for $1.4 billion in emergency financing to its board for approval as early as next week and was in talks about funding options with authorities in neighboring Moldova.

Global banks face an arduous and costly process if they decide to close businesses in Russia, banking sources and experts say, complicating decisions over whether they should withdraw.

Russia and Ukraine-bound exports, especially garments, are now faced with an uncertain future as shipping lines are understandably not too eager to carry goods to war zones.

Russia’s central bank announced Sunday it was allowing lenders in the country to reduce the frequency of their financial disclosures, a measure it said was necessary to mitigate sanctions fallout.

Oil prices are set to surge further this week due to delays to the conclusion of Iranian nuclear talks and the potential return of Iranian crude to global markets, which are already suffering from Russian supply disruptions, analysts said.

Several Russian banks said on Sunday they would soon start issuing cards using the Chinese UnionPay card operator's system coupled with Russia's own Mir network, after Visa and MasterCard said they were suspending operations in Russia.

World food prices hit a record high in February, led by a surge in vegetable oils and dairy products, to post a 24.1  per cent increase year-on-year, the UN food agency said on Friday.

Chinese firms are staying put in Russia for the moment despite a growing exodus of Western companies - albeit bracing for growing uncertainty - taking a cue from Beijing’s stance of refraining from criticizing Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.

Samsung Electronics has suspended shipments to Russia over “geopolitical developments”, the firm said Saturday, as major firms including Apple cut ties with the country over its invasion of Ukraine.

The White House is looking for ways to reduce US consumption of Russian oil while protecting American families from price hikes, an administration spokeswoman said Friday.

In bright sunshine, a long queue of shoppers snaked outside an IKEA store near Moscow this week. Similar scenes were repeated across Russia as families rushed to spend their fast-depreciating roubles at the Swedish retailer which is exiting the crisis-hit country.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has signed an executive order to include nuclear power in the country’s energy mix, as authorities prepare for the phasing out of coal-fired power plants and after earlier efforts failed due to safety concerns.

Turkey’s annual inflation rate in February hit a two-decade high, data from the statistics agency showed Thursday, amid President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s unorthodox policies to cut interest rates and a weakening currency.

A property downturn, slowing economy and war in Ukraine loom large over this week’s annual convening of China’s legislature, with policymakers expected to focus on shoring up faltering growth.

Commodity markets extended their bull runs on Thursday, with aluminium, coal and palm oil all hitting new records while crude oil and wheat scaled multi-year highs as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine disrupted global raw material flows.

Ratings agencies Fitch and Moody’s downgraded Russia by six notches to “junk” status, saying Western sanctions threw into doubt its ability to service debt and would weaken the economy.

The Moscow branch of a Chinese state bank has seen a surge in enquiries from Russian firms wanting to open new accounts, a person familiar with the matter said, as the country's businesses struggle with international sanctions after its invasion of Ukraine.

State Bank of India has stopped processing transactions of Russian entities which have been sanctioned by the West over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Oil prices sped higher on Thursday as the war in Ukraine drove a mad dash for resources in an ominous sign for global inflation, while Asian shares eked out gains after reassuring comments from the Federal Reserve helped Wall Street bounce.