Oil Prices Temporarily Break $99 As Russian Troops Move Into Ukraine

Reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered “peacekeeping” forces into the two Ukrainian regions of Lugansk and Donetsk prompted a sharp jump in oil prices today. Brent crude topped $99 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate was over $96 per barrel following the news. Brent later retreated below $99. Yesterday, after the Russian parliament voted in favor of a proposal to recognize the breakaway regions as independent republics, President Putin signed off on the approval. Soon after, according to the reports, Putin ordered…