U.S. oil futures log highest finish since July 2014 on Russia-Ukraine crisis supply concerns

Oil futures rallied on Tuesday, with U.S. prices ending at their highest since July 2014, supported by the ongoing threat to global supplies from the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Prices continued higher even after the International Energy Agency said its members agreed to release 60 million barrels from their emergency oil reserves to ease concerns over a potential global shortage. The biggest impact of the IEA’s oil reserve release is “on market sentiment, given the delay and staggered nature between an announcement and the barrels hitting the physical market,” said Matt Smith, lead oil analyst, Americas, at Kpler. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery rose $7.69, or 8%, to settle at $103.41 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That was the highest front-month finish since July 22, 2014, according to FactSet data.

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