Oil declines after rising on Ukraine crisis

BEIJING (AP) -- The price of oil declined Friday after rising to near $102 per barrel on worries about tensions in Ukraine.

Benchmark U.S. crude for June delivery shed 30 cents to $101.64 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, an international benchmark for oil, gave up 27 cents to $110.06 on the ICE Futures exchange in London a day after gaining $1.22.

Ukraine is going through its biggest political crisis since the fall of the Soviet Union, sparked by months of anti-government protests and President Viktor Yanukovych's flight to Russia. Ukrainian forces launched an operation Thursday to drive pro-Russia insurgents out of occupied buildings in the country's turbulent east. In response, Russia responded by announcing military exercises near Ukraine's border.

In other energy futures trading in New York:

— Wholesale gasoline was down 5 cents at $3.04 a gallon.

— Heating oil rose 3 cents was steady at $3.01 a gallon.

— Natural gas fell 2.5 cents was flat at $4.70 per 1,000 cubic feet.