Crude Oil Hits 5 Month High

Oil futures settled above $103 a barrel on Wednesday at their highest in five weeks, finding some support from lingering concerns over unrest in Ukraine and talk that the reopening of Libyan ports may be delayed. Traders also assessed U.S. government data showing a weekly climb in crude supplies that was bigger than expected, but less than what a trade group reported a day earlier. The main focus for traders, however, remained on the “geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine,” said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at AvaTrade. Speculation that the market “may not see the supply hitting the market from Libya” also supported oil prices.

Crude oil for May delivery CLK4 +0.87%  added $1.04, or 1%, to settle at $103.60 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after touching a low of $102.03 in electronic trading. Prices settled at the highest level since March 4. May Brent crude UK:LCOK4 +0.16% , the European benchmark, rose $1.85, or 1.8%, to $107.67 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

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