Crude oil prices rise, markets fear Crimea escalation

Crude oil prices are on the rise with markets anticipating an escalation of Ukraine's crisis and expectations of oil supplies being disturbed.Crude oil is trading at $107.14 a barrel, a slight increase from Wednesday's closing price of $106.95 a barrel.The oil prices earlier reached a plateau after the U.S. announced the amount of its domestic crude oil stockpiles, which were higher than expected. U.S. President Barack Obama's harsh criticism of Russian actions in Crimea pushed prices slightly upward, making markets fear distruption in oil supplies.The U.S. Department of Energy said on Wednesday that domestic crude oil stockpiles had risen by 6.6 million barrels, way above the anticipated 2.8 million barrels.Further rises in oil prices may push the price cap to $107.4 a barrel, analysts say, underlining that $108.1 a barrel could be the resistance point.West Texas crude oil is currently trading at about $100.36 a barrel. The prices saw a slight rise from $100 a barrel, the lowest during the day.