Oil prices climbed to their highest this year on worries that tensions between Russia and Ukraine may spiral out of control and hit energy supplies in Europe. The tensions in Eastern Europe add to an already strong market. Demand for oil has been high this year because of a cold winter in the U.S. and a surprise jump in Chinese oil imports. So far, the standoff in Ukraine hasn’t affected the physical supply of oil, but will add to worries over supplies from Russia, one of the world’s largest oil and gas producers, said Victor Shum, vice president at IHS Energy. Similar jumps in prices were seen over the conflict in Syria last year, with the so-called geopolitical risk premium then rising to as much as $15 a barrel when tensions were at their peak. Nymex crude rose sharply in early Asian morning trade but has pared gains and is up $1.19 at $103.78 a barrel. Brent crude is up $1.39 at $110.46 a barrel. Adding to the price rise on Monday, automatic orders called stop-loss buying have been triggered, said Ken Hasegawa, commodities sales manager at Tokyo-based Newedge Japan said.