LONDON--Oil prices were lower Monday, but subject to forces so diverse that a clear picture is yet to emerge from the aftermath of the Crimean vote. Brent crude for May delivery on London's ICE Futures exchange was down 51 cents at $107.70 a barrel. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in April were down 19 cents at $98.70 a barrel. Oil prices are "caught up in a complex web of risks," according to David Hufton at brokerage PVM. "Rising geopolitical tensions, possible interruptions to Russian energy supply from both the demand and supply side, threats to global growth and the potential for a violent change in risk sentiment," he said. "These are over and above the daily dose of uncertainties over Libyan, Nigerian and Iranian supplies." Libya's El Sharara oil field was once again shut, having re-started last week, according to the state oil company. Andrey Kryuchenkov of VTB Capital noted that news of Libyan disruptions added to market jitters Friday, and will continue to do so this week. He also said, however, that the market is in uneasy balance, with risk to the downside for Brent. "We would still favor a Brent price pullback from here, but tensions over Ukraine will maintain jittery Brent trading, with the market still trading on headlines and sentiment rather than fundamentals," he said. In such a market, it's difficult to call future moves. U.S. money managers responded last week by lowering bets that crude will rise, but the number of net long bets on rising prices remains substantial. Equivalent data on Brent is due later Monday from the IntercontinentalExchange Inc. (ICE). Recently, ICE's gasoil for April was down $4.25 at $897.50 a metric ton. Nymex gasoline for April delivery was down 145 points at $2.9452 a gallon.

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