European natural gas surged and oil rallied after the dramatic escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Oil and gold led a broad rally in commodities after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he’s recognizing two self-proclaimed separatist republics in eastern Ukraine and plans to send “peacekeeping forces” to the region in a dramatic escalation of the conflict. West Texas Intermediate crude climbed about 3% from Friday, after not closing Monday due to a U.S. holiday, while gold touched an eight-month high. There were no details on how many Russian troops might go in, or when. Moscow has previously accused Ukraine of having a significant deployment of its own soldiers on the line of contact with the separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk. The intensifying standoff — and the response from the U.S. and Europe — has the potential to roil raw materials markets. Russia is a major producer of oil, […]