Increased tensions between Russia and Ukraine drove oil futures to the highest level since September, as the fear of supply disruptions in one of the world's largest oil producers lend support to prices.
Crude oil for April delivery (CLJ4) rallied $1.75, or 1.7%, to $104.34 a barrel on Monday, on track for the highest settlement level for a front-runner contract in more than five months.
Meanwhile, Brent crude for the same month climbed $2.16, or 2%, to $111.23.
The sizable gains came as the crisis in Ukraine deepened over the weekend, when Russian President Vladimir Putin got parliamentary approval to use miliary forces in its southern neighbor. Ukrainian State Border Service said on Monday that "the pressure from the Russian military" had significantly increased and that Russia was massing armored military vehicles on its side of a narrow sea crossing close to eastern Crimea.
Analysts at Commerzbank said the majority of Russia's oil exports go to Europe, "so it is hardly surprising that Brent has risen in response to the conflict, even though the risk of actual delivery outages is small." The analysts also said crude oil made considerable gains in response to the political jitters.
Further lending support to oil prices, money managers expanded their long positions in West Texas Intermediate crude oil in the week to Feb. 25 to a record 329,100 contracts, the Commerzbank analysts said. With that data, long positions in WTI have increased for six weeks straight.
Natural-gas prices were also boosted by the tensions between Ukraine and Russia, with most of Russia's pipelines for supplying Europe running through Ukrainian territory. Russian state gas producer Gazprom OAO reportedly warned Ukraine that prices could increase in the first quarter. Natural gas for April (NGJ14) gained 10 cents, or 2.2%, to $4.71 per million British thermal units.
Elsewhere in energy complex, April gasoline (RBJ4) added 5 cents, or 1.7%, to $3.03 a gallon. Heating oil for (HOJ4) for the same month rose 7 cents, or 2.3%, to $3.08 a gallon.
Source: Marketwatch
Crude oil for April delivery (CLJ4) rallied $1.75, or 1.7%, to $104.34 a barrel on Monday, on track for the highest settlement level for a front-runner contract in more than five months.
Meanwhile, Brent crude for the same month climbed $2.16, or 2%, to $111.23.
The sizable gains came as the crisis in Ukraine deepened over the weekend, when Russian President Vladimir Putin got parliamentary approval to use miliary forces in its southern neighbor. Ukrainian State Border Service said on Monday that "the pressure from the Russian military" had significantly increased and that Russia was massing armored military vehicles on its side of a narrow sea crossing close to eastern Crimea.
Analysts at Commerzbank said the majority of Russia's oil exports go to Europe, "so it is hardly surprising that Brent has risen in response to the conflict, even though the risk of actual delivery outages is small." The analysts also said crude oil made considerable gains in response to the political jitters.
Further lending support to oil prices, money managers expanded their long positions in West Texas Intermediate crude oil in the week to Feb. 25 to a record 329,100 contracts, the Commerzbank analysts said. With that data, long positions in WTI have increased for six weeks straight.
Natural-gas prices were also boosted by the tensions between Ukraine and Russia, with most of Russia's pipelines for supplying Europe running through Ukrainian territory. Russian state gas producer Gazprom OAO reportedly warned Ukraine that prices could increase in the first quarter. Natural gas for April (NGJ14) gained 10 cents, or 2.2%, to $4.71 per million British thermal units.
Elsewhere in energy complex, April gasoline (RBJ4) added 5 cents, or 1.7%, to $3.03 a gallon. Heating oil for (HOJ4) for the same month rose 7 cents, or 2.3%, to $3.08 a gallon.
Source: Marketwatch
