US President Joe Biden has announced a ban on US imports of Russian oil and gas.

He told reporters: "Today I'm announcing the US is targeting the main artery of Russia's economy -we're banning all imports of Russian oil and gas and energy.

"That means Russian oil will no longer be acceptable at US ports and the American people will deal another powerful blow to Putin's war machine.

"This is a move that has strong bipartisan support in Congress and I believe in the country.

'"Americans have rallied to support the Ukrainian people and made it clear we will not be part of subsiding Putin's war."

The Democratic US President continued: "We made this decision in close consultation with our allies and our partners round the world, particularly in Europe, because a united response to Putin's aggression has been my overriding focus."

However Mr Biden recognised that a ban on imports of Russian oil may not be possible for the UK or its European allies.

He said: "We're moving forward with this ban understanding that many of our European allies and partners may not be a position to join us."

Oil prices jumped on the news, with Benchmark Brent crude for May climbing by 5.4% to $129.91 a barrel.

The United States imported more than 20.4 million barrels of crude and refined products a month on average from Russia in 2021, about 8% of U.S. liquid fuel imports, according to the Energy Information Administration, and the ban is expected to send already high gasoline prices and inflation soaring. The United States also imports a negligible amount of coal from Russia.

Martin Durbin, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Energy Institute, commented: “We applaud the administration for banning Russian energy imports. It’s time now for the administration to partner with domestic energy producers to leverage America’s ability to produce more oil and gas and focus on pro-growth policies to benefit our economy and the world’s security.”