Oil prices rise on Ukraine worries

Oil prices advanced Wednesday as the deteriorating situation in Ukraine raised fears of a civil war that could disrupt oil supplies. The uncertainties surrounding Ukraine have become a primary market move over the past weeks, as more than 70 percent of Russian crude and gas exports to Europe pass through Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned Wednesday that Ukraine "is as close to civil war as you can get." The prospect of a possible halt of Russian crude and gas supplies through Ukraine provided support for the crude prices, especially the Brent crude. U.S. crude inventories increase 0.9 million barrels to 398.5 million barrels for the week ended May 9, said the Energy Information Administration (EIA) Wednesday. Crude prices were also driven higher by the EIA's report that stockpiles fell at Cushing, Oklahoma, a delivery hub for the future, as a new portion of pipeline transported crude from Cushing to the Gulf Coast. Cushing stockpiles dropped for the 14th time in the past 15 weeks, falling 600,000 barrels to 23.4 million barrels, the fewest since Dec. 5, 2008, according to the EIA. Light, sweet crude for June delivery moved up 67 U.S. cents at 102.37 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for June delivery gained 95 cents at 110.19 dollars a barrel.