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Oil Up, U.S. on Alert For “Imminent” Russian Attack on Ukraine -Breaking

by Mike Robinson

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© Reuters.

By Gina Lee

Investing.com – Oil was up on Thursday morning in Asia, briefly surpassing the $100-mark. Black liquid gained some strength as Ukraine’s situation continues to worsen.

The price rose to $98.24 at 11:33PM ET (4.33 GMT) after surpassing the $100 threshold for the first year since 2014. It also jumped by 4.71%, to $96.44.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken believes that Russia will invade Ukraine after separatists from the latter’s Donbass (Donbas) regions requested Russian help to repel “aggression”. Russian President also ordered a “special military operation” to protect the Donbas earlier in the day.

Additionally, data-wiping software was able to attack hundreds of Ukrainian computers. It is the latest example of what Ukraine regards as an intensifying wave hackers, as Russia massed its troops near its borders.

Jeffrey Halley from OANDA, a senior market analyst at OANDA, told Reuters: “After a lull yesterday when the Russia-Ukraine issue fell out of headlines,”

The Iran nuclear agreement is one factor that may temporarily slow down prices. Rumours are circulating that there could be a new deal, perhaps as soon as next week. However, Ukraine fears, and their wider ramifications will continue to support oil prices which remain a solid buy on dips,” he added.

Indirect talks between Iran and the U.S. could result in the renewal of the 2015 nuclear agreement and the lifting sanctions against Iranian oil. On Wednesday, Iran urged the West not to abandon its “realistic” approach in negotiations. Iran said on Wednesday that Ali Bagheri Kani its top negotiator was going back to Iran for consultations. It indicated that there is no imminent breakthrough in negotiations.

The Wednesday report showed that there was a 5.983million barrel build for the week ending February 18, which is its first build in five consecutive weeks. Investing.com had made forecasts for a 767,000-barrel increase, and a draw of 1.076 billion barrels was recorded during the week before.

Investors await the announcement, expected later today.

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