2025-09-27T05:30:40+00:00
Shafaq News
Oil prices rose on Friday as Ukraine’s drone attacks on
Russia’s energy infrastructure cut the country’s fuel exports.
Brent futures settled at $70.13 a barrel, up 71 cents, or
1.02%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude finished at $65.72 a barrel,
gaining 74 cents, or 1.14%.
Both benchmarks are set to register their biggest increases
since mid-June.
“Markets continued to be focused on the situation
between Russia and Ukraine,” said John Kilduff, partner with Again
Capital. “These drone attacks by Ukraine are beginning to add up.”
Russia will introduce a partial ban on diesel exports until
the end of the year and extend an existing ban on gasoline exports, Deputy
Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Thursday.
The drop in refining capacity has left several Russian
regions facing shortages of certain grades of fuel.
In addition to the drone attacks, Andrew Lipow, president of
Lipow Oil Associates, said U.S. government action was also supportive.
“President Trump continues to pressure U.S. allies to
reduce Russian imports,” Lipow said. “We might see India and Turkey
reduce some of their Russian imports.”
NATO’s warning of a response to further violations of member
nations’ airspace has ratcheted up tensions from the war in Ukraine and raised
prospects of additional sanctions on Russia’s oil industry, said ANZ analyst
Daniel Hynes.
On the supply side, crude oil exports are scheduled to
resume on Saturday from Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, the state news
agency said, citing state marketer SOMO, which will transport the oil via
pipeline to Turkey’s Ceyhan port.
“The market will be watching Kurdish production to see
what that will add to supply,” Lipow said.
On the demand side, U.S. gross domestic product increased at
an upwardly revised 3.8% annualized rate in the past quarter, the Commerce
Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis said in its latest estimate on
Thursday.
“If Russia’s supply to China and India is changed
they’ll be looking for supply,” Again Capital’s Kilduff said. “U.S.
economic data has been OK. And with the Fed easing interest rates that will
contribute to demand.”
However, stronger-than-expected economic data could make the
U.S. Federal Reserve more cautious about cutting interest rates after a cut of
25 basis points last week, its first since December.
(Reuters)
Only the headline is edited by Shafaq News Agency.
