NEW YORK – The price of oil rose past US$104 per barrel Thursday on worries over the upheaval in Ukraine.
Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery rose 54 cents to close at US$104.30 a barrel in New York.
Supplies in the U.S. are ample — the Energy Department reported the biggest gain in stocks in 13 years on Wednesday. But that wasn’t enough to calm the fears of traders this week, who worry that Russia’s actions in response to the turmoil in Ukraine could be met with sanctions that disrupt exports of Russia’s oil and gas.
Despite indications of a possible diplomatic solution to the crisis in Ukraine Thursday, traders remained concerned that the situation could worsen over the coming long weekend and were reluctant to sell oil.
Oil markets are closed Friday.
Energy Analyst Jim Ritterbusch expects oil prices to quickly fall back next week if the Ukraine crisis does not worsen. “We still expect some downside rotation through the balance of this month,” he wrote in a note to investors.
Brent crude, an international benchmark used to price oil used by many U.S. refineries, was down seven cents to close at US$109.53 a barrel for June delivery in London.
The price of natural gas surged nearly five per cent Thursday after the U.S. Energy Department reported that U.S. storage levels rose less than analysts had expected. Natural gas for May delivery rose 21.1 cents to US$4.741 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In other energy futures trading on the Nymex, wholesale gasoline rose 1.4 cents to close at US$3.055 a U.S. gallon (3.79 litre) and heating oil fell 0.1 cent to close at US$3.001 a gallon.