Crude oil futures were higher in mid-morning Asian trade on March 1, as the market assesses the impact of restrictions on Russia’s use of SWIFT international payment system amid the looming threat of sanctions on Russia’s energy sector. Receive daily email alerts, subscriber notes & personalize your experience. Register Now At 11:53 am Singapore time (0353 GMT), the ICE May Brent futures contract was up 71 cents/b (0.72%) from the previous close at $98.68/b, while the NYMEX April light sweet crude contract rose 70 cents/b (0.73%) at $96.42/b. Over the weekend, the US, EU and Japan have imposed another round of sanctions on Russia, removing some of Russia’s biggest financial institutions from the SWIFT international payment system. There is also mounting pressure on the US, EU to target Russian energy exports in response to the Russian invasion, with Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted over the weekend, urging Western governments to […]