Oil Prices were seen trading higher on the last day of the trading week as the ongoing turmoil in Ukraine continues as Crimea voted to be officially part of Russia and the US imposed sanctions on politicians from Ukraine and Russia.
Meanwhile, the market are focused on the US jobs data due later today, as analysts expects to see a rise in jobs added to the labour market.
The North American West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for April delivery climbed 0.34% to $101.91 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange at the time of writing.
While Brent crude for April settlement added 0.34% at $108.48 per barrel at the same time. The European benchmark crude was at a premium of $6.54 to WTI.
Oil – Ukraine Conflict
On Thursday, the US President Barack Obama, mentioned the possibility of further sanctions on Russian and Ukrainian politicians for threatening Ukraine’s sovereignty, if Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government doesn’t respond. So far, the US has imposed visa bans, financial sanctions and property freezes.
Voters in Crimea will finalize their decision on March 16 as to whether the Crimean Peninsula will join Russia or stay with Ukraine.
Russia produced 9.9 million barrels a day in 2012 and exported approximately 5 million, reports from the Energy Information Administration confirmed.
Oil – US Jobs Data
Later in the day, the US non-farm payrolls data will be released and expected to show an additional 150,000 jobs to the world’s largest economy in February, rising from the previous figures of 113,000 seen in January.
While the initial jobless claims declined by 26,000 to 323,000 in the week ending March 1, down from analysts forecast of 337,000.
US Crude Stockpiles
According to reports from the EIA, the Energy Department’s statistical arm, crude stockpiles added 13.6 million barrels since Jan 10 while demand averaged over four week dropped to an eight month low.
While a separate report from the EIA revealed distillate stockpiles added 1.41 million barrels in the week ending Feb 28. Analysts forecasted to see a drop by 1 million barrels.
Visit www.hymarkets.com to find out more about our products and start trading today with only $50 using the latest trading technology today
The post Oil Prices Trades Higher Amid Ukraine Crisis appeared first on | HY Markets Official blog.
Article provided by HY Markets Forex Blog
