Oil prices continue to rise and may end the week with the strongest increase since the beginning of June. On the morning of September 26, November Brent futures on London's ICE Futures added 0.17%, rising to $69.70 per barrel. WTI contracts also rose in price at the NYMEX auction, to $65.38 per barrel (+0.38%). Since the beginning of the week, both benchmarks have gained more than 4%. The main driver was the latest data from the US Department of Energy: oil reserves unexpectedly decreased by 607 thousand barrels with growth forecast, gasoline reserves fell by 1.08 million barrels, and distillates – by 1.7 million. These figures reinforced expectations of a supply shortage. Prices are also affected by geopolitical risks. Concerns about Russian supplies have increased following statements by US President Donald Trump, who called on Turkey to abandon imports of Russian oil. Additional attention of traders is focused on the situation in Iraq: according to Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, oil exports from Kurdistan may resume this week and in the future reach 500 thousand barrels per day.
