Peter Nurse 

Investing.com. European stock market are likely to open lower Tuesday amid concerns about the Ukraine/Russia conflict, which could cause a sharp rise in commodity prices and hurt global growth.

2. AM ET (0700 GMT): The German contract traded 0.2% less, while France’s contract dropped 1.9% and Britain’s contract fell 1.1%.

Talks between Russia, Ukraine and the cease-fire process failed to make any progress Monday. Moscow continued its bombardment in several Ukrainian cities, escalating the humanitarian crisis. 

Moscow offered possible humanitarian corridors to Russia, Belarus and Kyiv but Kyiv rejected it. It claimed that Russia has violated three attempts at creating them.

Due to the conflict and sanctions imposed by the West on Moscow, oil prices have risen to new highs of 14 years. Meanwhile, European gas, nickel and wheat have reached record highs amid worries about disruptions in supply.

These widespread price rises have put the ’s meeting on Thursday firmly into focus as policymakers must now grapple with the prospect of inflation, already at record highs, rising yet further just as a new crisis threatens the economy.

The ECB has announced that it will reduce its bond purchasing in the coming quarters. However, further large decisions seem unlikely as the central bank is not likely to make any commitment due to uncertainty around the effects of the Ukraine conflict.

The Eurozone’s fourth quarter data will show an expected surge of growth at 4.6%. However, data released already show that January saw a 2.7% increase. This is much higher than was expected.

Corporate news Estee Lauder The stock exchange (NYSE:) will be front and center Tuesday, after the company announced that it would suspend all commercial activity in Russia. This includes closing all of its Russian stores.

Oil prices traded higher, remaining near the previous session’s 14-year highs, The latest weekly inventory report from the , an industry group, is due later Tuesday, and follows a drop of just over 6 million barrels last week.

Crude prices rose Monday morning after the U.S. stated it was in discussions with major European allies to ban Russian oil. However, gains were lost after Germany rejected the idea of an energy embargo. Germany is the largest buyer of Russian oil.

Futures were trading 2.5% higher at $122.39 per barrel by 2AM ET. The contract was up 3% to $126.90. On Monday, Brent reached $139.13 per barrel while WTI was at $130.50.

The price also rose 1.4% to $2.022.90/oz and traded 0.1% higher at 1.0856.