LONDON: Brent crude was only slightly up at just below $108 a barrel as traders bet that the latest moves in the Crimea would not lead to a sharper escalation of the crisis.

Crimea’s parliament voted to join Russia and the US announced asset freezes and travel bans on those involved in Russia’s military intervention.

Brent oil has fallen $4 since hitting a two-month high on Monday when fears of an armed conflict peaked.

“Thereís no strong appetite to go head to head with Russia. If we look at the EU or even the US, it’s more likely theyíll stick with softer sanctions for now than something serious,” said Olivier Jakob, an oil analyst at Petromatrix in Switzerland.

Brent was up 10 cents at $107.86 at 1525 GMT, after settling $1.54 lower. The contract hit $112.39 on Monday, its highest since Dec. 30.

US crude was 7 cents lower at $100.38, after dropping $1.88 in the previous session.

European Union leaders meeting in Brussels were set to warn but not sanction Russia, whose forces have seized control of Ukraine’s Crimea region. The foreign ministers of Russia and the United States are due to meet again on Thursday in Rome.

Russian assets were broadly down as well following the Crimean parliament’s vote and the US asset freezes and travel bans.

Oil was pressured further by a larger than expected rise in US crude stocks and data showing US private employers added fewer workers than forecast in February.

US crude oil stockpiles rose more than expected last week as imports increased and refinery output fell, data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed on Wednesday.

Crude oil inventories rose by 1.4 million barrels in the week ending Feb. 28, compared with analyst expectations for a build of 1.3 million barrels.

Crude stocks at the US WTI benchmark delivery point in Cushing, Oklahoma, fell for a fifth straight week, following the start-up of the Keystone XL pipeline to the Gulf coast.

Further weighing on oil demand, US oil refiners are expected to take 1,608,000 bpd of capacity offline in the week ending March 7, up from 1,412,000 bpd the previous week, data from research company IIR showed.