Brent crude gained for a second day as the European Union warned that Russia risks growing isolation over the downing of Malaysian Air flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine.
The EU pressed President Vladimir Putin to speed a probe into the downing of the plane as European foreign ministers met in Brussels to discuss further sanctions against Russia.
Brent for September settlement gained 31 cents, or 0.3%, to $107.99 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The volume of all futures was 18% below the 100-day average.
The crude rebounded last week for the first weekly gain in a month after Flight 17 was shot down over rebel-held territory in eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 passengers and crew.
The incident threatened to intensify the worst crisis between the West and Russia since the end of the Cold War.
The downing of MH17 has galvanized sentiment against Russia in the EU, which had moved slower on sanctions than the US Putin is trying to refute accusations from Ukraine and its US and EU allies that rebels shot down the aircraft over their territory and that it supplied the insurgents with the surface-to-air missile that they used.
“There is concern that there will be further sanctions on Russia and that those could have an impact on oil,” said Gerrit Zambo, an oil trader at Bayerische Landesbank in Munich.
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