Crude oil futures extend climb in Asia after Putin puts troops in Ukraine’s breakaway regions

Crude oil futures continued its steep ascend in mid-morning Asian trade Feb. 22 after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops on a “peacekeeping mission” into breakaway regions in Ukraine in an escalation of the Russia-Ukraine tensions. At 10:31 am Singapore time (0231 GMT), the ICE April Brent futures contract was up $1.63/b (1.71%) from the previous close at $97.02/b, while…