Oil prices rise due to Ukraine’s attacks and Russia’s export restrictions
26 September 2025 12:00
Oil prices rose on Friday, and may rise by more than 4% over the week, as Ukraine’s attacks on Russia’s energy infrastructure force Moscow to limit fuel exports and bring it closer to cutting crude oil production. This is reported by "Komersant Ukrainian" with reference to Reuters.
Brent futures rose by 21 cents (0.3%) to $69.63 per barrel, while futures for US crude oil WTI rose by 32 cents (0.5%) to $65.30 per barrel.
Reasons for the growth
IG analyst Tony Sycamore noted that prices are supported by several factors:
- attacks by Ukrainian drones on Russian oil infrastructure,
- nATO’s warning of readiness to respond to airspace violations,
- russia’s steps to restrict exports of key fuels.
Russia has announced a partial ban on diesel exports until the end of the year and is extending the ban on gasoline exports. Decreased oil refining capacity is pushing the country to reduce crude oil production, and several regions are already experiencing shortages of certain fuel grades.
Geopolitical impact
NATO’s warning and Russia’s war against Ukraine increase the risk of new sanctions against the Russian oil industry, said ANZ analyst Daniel Hines.
In addition, both oil benchmarks have reached their highest levels since early August amid an unexpected drop in US crude oil stocks and Ukraine’s attacks on Russia’s energy infrastructure.
Additional factors of influence
- The US GDP growth for the last quarter was 3.8% year-on-year, which may slow down the process of reducing the Federal Reserve’s rates.
- The Kurdish government’s announcement that it would resume oil exports within 48 hours further affected the market. It is estimated that Iraqi Kurdistan can return up to 500 thousand barrels of oil per day to the world market.
Analysts emphasize that the combination of geopolitical tensions and the resumption of exports from Kurdistan creates a complex dynamic for world oil prices.
