Oil prices trade mixed

Global oil prices diverged Thursday amid data showing weaker US energy demand as Russia comes under international pressure following its seizure of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula, analysts said. New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for April delivery, slid 57 cents to $100.88 a barrel. Brent North Sea crude for April added just five cents to stand at $107.81 per barrel in London early afternoon deals. Kenny Kan, market analyst at CMC Markets in Singapore, said an increase in weekly crude inventories in the United States weighed on prices. A rise in stockpiles indicates weaker demand in the world's biggest oil consuming nation. "Many analysts considered the data to be bearish," Kan told AFP. The US Department of Energy said commercial crude-oil inventories rose 1.4 million barrels in the week ending February 28. That was more than analysts' consensus estimate of a 1.0-million-barrel gain. Investors are also keeping an eye on developments in Ukraine after Russian troops took effective control of Crimea, sparking the worst crisis in Europe since the Cold War. Russia vies with Saudi Arabia as the world's largest crude oil producer, and is the second-largest producer of natural gas. More than 70 percent of its gas and oil exports to Europe pass through Ukraine, and analysts fear that an escalation of the crisis could lead to a disruption in supplies. Russia will face further diplomatic pressure Thursday as the UN Security Council and European leaders hold emergency talks on the matter.