Oil stays above $104 amid Ukraine jitters
The price of oil edged higher Monday and stayed above $104 per barrel as investors watched the simmering tensions in Ukraine.
U.S. crude for May delivery rose 7 cents to $104.37 on Monday, after a three-day holiday weekend.
Markets are on edge at the possibility of European or U.S. sanctions that might disrupt Russian oil exports. Tensions got worse after an Easter morning shooting at a checkpoint manned by pro-Russian insurgents.
Upward pressure on oil prices was offset last week by a U.S. Energy Department report that showed an increase of 10 million barrels of crude oil supplies, the largest in 13 years.
Brent crude, an international benchmark for oil, rose 42 cents to $109.95.
In other energy futures trading in New York:
— Wholesale gasoline rose 3 cents to $3.087 a gallon.
— Natural gas fell 4 cents to $4.697 per 1,000 cubic feet.
— Heating oil was flat at $3.01 a gallon.
