Oil futures prices rose in trading on Tuesday, in light of growing fears of supply disruptions due to the Russian war on Ukraine.

New York futures prices rose 6.1% to their highest level since 2014.

The global oil benchmark Brent crude price rose more than 6% to $104 a barrel, before falling slightly over time.

US West Texas Intermediate crude contracts, for April delivery, rose $8.7, or 9.09%, to $104.42 a barrel.

During trading, prices approached $107 for Brent blend, and 105 for US crude, at the highest level since September 2014.

Pressures on the global oil market increased after reports that members of the "OPEC Plus" alliance - which includes 13 member states in "OPEC" led by Saudi Arabia and producers from outside it led by Russia - are heading to maintain a cautious increase in production.

The coalition ministers will meet on Wednesday, amid expectations of maintaining an approved increase in production at a rate of 400,000 barrels per day for the month of next April, despite pressures led by the United States to pump more crude to curb prices.

Meanwhile, the US Department of Energy said today that 30 countries, including the United States, have agreed to release 60 million barrels of oil from their strategic reserves to stabilize global energy markets.

And US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said that President Joe Biden authorized the release of an initial 30 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

"We are ready to take additional measures if circumstances warrant," Granholm said in a statement.

This comes at a time when the European Union is considering excluding 7 Russian banks from the international payments system SWIFT, including "VTB Bank" in the latest set of European financial sanctions against Moscow.

And the Bloomberg news agency indicated that the US investment banks Goldman Sachs Group, Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan Chase raised their expectations for oil prices, in light of expectations of supply disruptions.

European meeting

In a related context, European Union officials said that the finance ministers of the 27-nation bloc will discuss tomorrow the economic impact of the war in Ukraine and will seek coordination to minimize the repercussions of the crisis.

The conference, which will be held via video conference and is expected to start at 1400 GMT, will focus on the consequences of the Russian war on Ukraine at the national level, and at the level of the European Union as a whole.

Ministers will consider the impact of EU sanctions and Russia's response to them, including the general impact on energy prices and inflation.

"Ministers will discuss how to coordinate to mitigate all of this," a European official said.

It is unlikely - according to officials - that there will be written results because the ministers addressed the issue in statements last week after a meeting in Paris, although the situation has developed since then with the imposition of additional sanctions, including the Russian Central.