Summary The global oil prices fell Monday over Ukraine crisis.
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Oil prices fell Monday as dealers booked profits after strong gains last week fueled by positive US economic data and tensions over Ukraine.
In New York trade, the benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for delivery in May fell nine cents to $101.58 a barrel.
In London, Brent North Sea crude for May dipped 31 cents to stand at $107.76 a barrel.
The lack of any escalation during the weekend to the standoff over Ukraine between Russia and the West helped take some pressure off prices, though the situation remains tense.
Russian troops are massed on the borders of eastern Ukraine, sparking fears about Moscow's plans after it took control of the Crimean Peninsula this month.
Although the two sides failed Sunday to reach a breakthrough deal in Paris, they did agree to keep talking after what were described as "frank" and "constructive" negotiations.
Russia provides about a quarter of Europe's natural gas supplies, with about half of those exports travelling through pipelines in Ukraine, analysts say.
"The oil market is still locked into a delicate balance of geopolitical risk and ample supply," said Phil Flynn of PRICE Futures Group.
"Talks with Russia that seemed to go nowhere increase the odds that there will be more sanctions directed at Russia. Russian troops are still on the Ukraine border."
Also helping soften prices was the start of production from the large West Qurna-2 field in Iraq, starting at 120,000 barrels a day but expected to rise to 420,000 barrels a day by year's end.
Traders also kept an eye on traffic in the crucial Strait of Hormuz, where an armed gunboat attacked an oil tanker on Sunday.
The tanker's crew rebuffed the attackers, who have not been identified.
