By Gina Lee

Investing.com – Oil was up on Friday morning in Asia, with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine driving global supply concerns. Investors have been preparing for possible trade sanctions targeting Russia, third-largest crude oil exporter worldwide.

After hitting an all-time high of $101.87, the price rose by 2.38% to $97.69 at 11:58 ET (4:58 GMT). The price of $94.89 rose by 2.24%

Brent Futures reached $105, the highest level since 2014. This was Thursday’s first Russian incursion in Ukraine since 2014. In the wake of Europe’s largest attack since World War Two, thousands of Ukrainians fled their homeland.

Jeffrey Halley, OANDA’s senior market analyst, stated that Asian buyers were clearly anxious into the weekend and have piled into oil today, pushing prices up once more, assisted along by reports about explosions in Kyiv.” Reuters.

“The Ukraine situation will continue to drive prices up, and the threat of disruptions (real or imagined) will increase in an environment with strong demand globally. Brent futures should trade between $90-110 in the coming weeks, according to me.

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the United States imposed additional sanctions against Russia. While a State Department official said to Reuters the sanctions weren’t intended to target oil or gas flows, prices for oil remain high.

Vivek Dhar, a Commonwealth Bank analyst said that oil markets were particularly susceptible to supply shocks because global oil stocks are at their lowest level in seven years.

“The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies (OPEC+)’s spare oil capacity has come under question due to disappointing OPEC+ supply growth,” the note added. A Reuters survey found that the cartel which also includes Russia has had difficulty increasing production. The January 2022 output increase by OPEC members was less than planned as part of a deal with their allies.

Although the U.S, has indicated it may look to release strategic oil stockpiles to address soaring prices, “history suggests that any drawdown on strategic oil stockpiles will likely only provide temporary relief from high oil prices,” according to Dhar’s note.

Meanwhile, Thursday’s showed a build of 4.515 million barrels in the week to Feb. 18. Investing.com forecasts a build of 442,000 barrels, while a build of 1.121 million barrels was observed during the week before.

The day before,, which showed an increase of 5.983 millions barrels, was released.