Crude Surges to Five-Month Highs on Ukraine
Increased tensions between Russia and Ukraine drove crude oil futures to their highest close in more than five months on Monday, with prices settling near US$105 per barrel (/bbl) amid fears of disruptions to global oil supplies. President Vladimir Putin’s forces tightened their grip on the Crimea region of Ukraine, which Russia reportedly amassing armored vehicles there after Putin declared over the weekend that he had the right to invade his neighbor to protect Russian interests and citizens. Russia is among the world’s largest oil producers, and while analysts said it was unlikely Russian oil supplies would be disrupted by the Ukraine crisis, investors dumped riskier assets like stocks in favor of commodities like gold and oil. The growing tensions sparked a stock plunge in Moscow. The Moscow bourse slumped 11%, wiping nearly $60 billion of value off Russian companies. NYMEX-traded West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for April delivery rallied $2.33 to settle at US$104.92/bbl. London-traded Brent crude settled for April closed up $2.13 at $111.20/bbl, narrowing its premium to WTI to $6.28/bbl from $6.48/bbl in the previous session.

Natural Gas Shrugs Off Cold-Weather Forecasts
U.S. natural gas futures ended 2.5% lower on Monday as traders bet that the unusually cold temperatures gripping much of the nation would give way to warmer weather in April. Although cash prices for gas continue to react to cold forecasts chilling the eastern half of the United States, the April contract is trading on potential spring conditions, some market observers said. The injection season will begin around the start of April and with the threat of shortage largely off the table, traders are said to be looking ahead to mild weather and strong production. NYMEX-traded natural gas finished down 11.7¢ at US$4.492 per million British thermal units (/mmBtu). Last week’s 25% loss in the front-month contract was the biggest since December 1996. Despite those losses, the prompt month is currently up about 8% since the start of the year. Elsewhere, some traders suggested the gas market “keep an eye” on crude oil because of the events in the Ukraine. While domestic gas futures will move mostly on U.S. weather, gains in crude could put a floor under natural gas prices – even though gas is a domestic market and crude is international.