On the New York Mercantile Exchange light, sweet crude futures for delivery in April traded at $99.14 a barrel at 0558 GMT–up $0.25 in the Globex electronic session. May Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange rose $0.07 to $108.28 a barrel. The U.S. and the European Union have rejected the results of the Crimean referendum and the looming threat of additional sanctions on Russia raised some concerns about Russia’s energy exports. “With the overwhelming pro-Russian vote in the region clashing with the West’s assertions that the referendum is not valid expect further geopolitical risk-related support this week,” ANZ said in a note. The market already reflects a slightly bullish sentiment priced in last week and any big reactions are unlikely unless there is a large military escalation or announcement of large-scale economic sanctions, oil traders said. Meanwhile, the slowing pace of economic growth in China and rising oil […]