Ukraine crisis: Oil prices jump by 3 per cent

Oil prices jumped by more than 3 per cent on Wednesday on supply tightness and the growing prospect of new Western sanctions against Russia even as Moscow and Kyiv held peace talks.

Brent crude futures were up $3.07, or 2.79 per cent, at $113.30 by 1215 GMT, reversing a 2 per cent loss in the previous session. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose $3.20, or 3.07 per cent, to $107.44 a barrel, erasing a 1.6 per cent drop on Tuesday.

Crude’s price recovery “suggests the oil market, at least, has a strong degree of scepticism about any ‘progress’ (in the peace talks),” Commonwealth Bank analyst Tobin Gorey said in a note.