World Stocks at 1-year Lows on Inflation Shock Worries; Gold Shines

World Stocks at 1-year Lows on Inflation Shock Worries; Gold Shines
A broker reacts while trading at his computer terminal at a stock brokerage firm in Mumbai, India, on Dec. 11, 2018. Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters
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LONDON—World stocks held at a one-year low on Tuesday, while gold climbed above the key $2,000 level, as the prospect of a ban on Russian oil imports pushed up oil prices and raised concerns of soaring inflation and slowing economic growth.

Russia warned that oil prices could surge to $300 a barrel and it might close the main gas pipeline to Germany if the West halts oil imports over the invasion of Ukraine.