Crude oil prices rise after drone attacks on Iraqi oilfields

Crude oil futures traded higher on Friday morning on supply concerns following drone attacks on oil fields in Iraq’s Kurdistan region.

At 9.57 am on Friday, September Brent oil futures were at $69.83, up by 0.45 per cent, and August crude oil futures on WTI (West Texas Intermediate) were at $67.83, up by 0.43 per cent. July crude oil futures were trading at ₹5824 on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) during the initial hour of trading on Friday against the previous close of ₹5792, up by 0.55 per cent, and August futures were trading at ₹5,734 against the previous close of ₹5,698, up by 0.63 per cent.

Market reports said that Iran-backed militias conducted drone attacks on oilfields in Iraq’s Kurdistan region. However, no group has claimed responsibility for these attacks.

A Reuters report, which quoted two unnamed officials, said oil output in the Kurdistan region has been slashed by between 140,000 and 150,000 barrels per day. This is more than half the region’s normal output of about 280,000 barrels per day.

In their Commodities Feed for Friday, Warren Patterson, Head of Commodities Strategy of ING Think, and Ewa Manthey, Commodities Strategist, said drone attacks on oil fields in Kurdistan provided some support to the market, with producers suspending operations, resulting in around 200,000 barrels a day of lost production.

They said that oil prices firmed on Thursday despite a recovery in the US dollar amid waning concern that US President Donald Trump may remove Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell from his position. Some fairly supportive US macro data also supported the oil. US retail sales came in stronger than expected, while initial jobless claims were lower than expected.

Near-term oil fundamentals remain supportive, with the market set to remain fairly tight through this quarter, before becoming better supplied from the last three months of the year, they said.

July natural gas futures were trading at ₹304.90 on MCX during the initial hour of trading on Friday, against the previous close of ₹306.10, down by 0.39 per cent.

On the National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), August dhaniya contracts were trading at ₹7638 in the initial hour of trading on Friday, against the previous close of ₹7622, up by 0.21 per cent.

August jeera futures were trading at ₹19470 on NCDEX in the initial hour of trading on Friday, against the previous close of ₹19545, down by 0.38 per cent.

Published on July 18, 2025