Oil Rises on Ukraine Violence

By Nicole Friedman 

NEW YORK--Oil prices rose Friday as tensions in Ukraine continued to rise and leaders in the U.S. and Europe said they would consider new sanctions against Russia's economy.

Light, sweet oil for October delivery rose 75 cents, or 0.8%, to $95.30 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent rose 44 cents, or 0.4%, to $102.90 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe.

Ukraine has accused Russia of sending troops into eastern Ukraine, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization says more than 1,000 Russian soldiers are fighting in Ukraine. The death toll has risen dramatically, the United Nations said Friday, with an average of 36 people killed each day between July 16 and Aug. 17 and a total of nearly 2,600 people dead through Aug. 27.

European leaders are meeting Saturday and said they would consider new sanctions.

"The Ukraine situation is definitely giving a little bit of a bid to the market," said Tariq Zahir, managing member of Tyche Capital Advisors. "People don't want to [hold bets on lower prices] going into the weekend, fearing an escalation in Ukraine."

The Nymex trading floor will be closed Monday for Labor Day.

Current sanctions have so far not affected oil exports from Russia, the No. 2 oil-exporting nation, and analysts say the likelihood of an oil-supply disruption is low.

"It is extremely unlikely that Russia would suspend oil shipments in the event that further sanctions were to be imposed," said Commerzbank in a note.

Front-month September reformulated gasoline blendstock, or RBOB, rose 1.49 cents, or 0.5%, to $2.7676 a gallon. The September contract expires at settlement Friday. The more-actively traded October contract rose 1.53 cents, or 0.6%, to $2.6061 a gallon.

September diesel rose 0.15 cent, or 0.1%, to $2.8505 a gallon. October diesel rose 0.25 cent, or 0.1%, to $2.8543 a gallon.

Gregory L. White in Moscow contributed to this article.

Write to Nicole Friedman at [e-mail]

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