Oil futures rose early Monday, boosted by tension over Ukraine amid fears the country is slipping into civil war, which threatens the outlook for energy supplies.
Key oil producing countries, especially Russia, are facing dramatic tail risks to supply amid geopolitical tension, pushing oil benchmarks higher with the start of the week.
Pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine declared victory in a referendum to autonomy on Sunday, with preliminary results showing more than 90% of voters in the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk backing the breakaway plan.
The United States, the European Union and several Western powers have condemned the referendum as illegitimate.
Kiev and the West claim that Russia is fomenting or even directing the unrest in the east, either with the goal of finding a pretext for invading and seizing the region, or of destabilizing Ukraine. Yet, Russia denies that it has agents on the ground in the east.
Meanwhile, EU leaders have warned Russia it faces further sanctions if Ukraine`s presidential election fails to go ahead.
As of 03:22 a.m. ET:
-West Texas Intermediate for May delivery rose 0.16% to $100.15 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange
- Brent for May delivery rose 0.46% to $108.35 a barrel on the ICE exchange in London
- NYMEX Natural Gas fell 1.28% to $4.473 per British thermal units