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Oil settles up 1% on Russia sanctions, interviews for next US Fed chair
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on November 18, 2025
3 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
Global Banking and Finance Review
Company
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on November 18, 2025
3 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
Oil prices rose 1% due to Russia sanctions and U.S. Fed chair interviews, impacting global markets and future oil supply.
By Georgina McCartney
HOUSTON (Reuters) -Oil prices settled higher on Tuesday after a choppy session as traders weighed the impact of Western sanctions on Russian oil flows, as well as U.S. President Donald Trump saying his administration had started interviewing for the next Federal Reserve chair.
Brent crude settled up 69 cents, or 1.07%, at $64.89 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 83 cents, or 1.39%, to $60.74.
U.S. crude futures briefly rose by more than $1 a barrel in afternoon trade to a session high of $60.92 after Trump announced the Federal Reserve chair interviews. Trump has been vocally critical of current Chair Jerome Powell for holding interest rates steady.
“I think this news is supportive of the market because it is obvious what kind of person Trump will bring in for that job. This gave a risk-on type of nudge to the market," said John Kilduff, partner with Again Capital.
Lower borrowing costs typically boost demand for oil and push prices higher.
TREASURY SAYS SANCTIONS SQUEEZING RUSSIA
The U.S. Treasury said sanctions imposed in October on Rosneft and Lukoil are already squeezing Russia's oil revenue and are expected to curb its export volumes over time.
"Traders weighed the impact of a growing global surplus against U.S. sanctions that are disrupting Russian crude flows," said MUFG analyst Soojin Kim.
A senior White House official said Trump was willing to sign Russian sanctions legislation as long as he retains final authority over its implementation.
Trump said on Sunday that Republicans were drafting a bill to impose sanctions on any country doing business with Russia, adding that Iran could also be included.
“This Russia sanctions legislation they are kicking around is exactly the type of secondary sanctions that could make a real difference. The risk of losing Russian supplies is supportive and it has the attention of the market,” said Kilduff.
Russia's Novorossiysk port resumed oil loadings on Sunday after a two-day suspension triggered by a Ukrainian missile and drone attack, according to two industry sources and data compiled by LSEG.
Exports from Novorossiysk and a nearby Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal, together representing about 2.2 million barrels per day, or roughly 2% of global supply, were halted on Friday, pushing crude prices up more than 2% that day.
Oil prices are expected to decline through 2026, Goldman Sachs said on Monday, citing a supply wave that keeps the market in surplus. However, it noted that Brent could rise above $70 a barrel in 2026/2027 if Russian output falls more sharply.
Investors were awaiting U.S. oil stock data from the American Petroleum Institute, due at around 4:30 p.m. EDT (2130).
(Reporting by Georgina McCartney in Houston, Ahmad Ghaddar in London. Additional reporting by Ashitha Shivaprasad in Bengaluru and Emily Chow in Singapore.Editing by David Goodman, Mark Potter, Deepa Babington, Rod Nickel)
Brent crude is a major trading classification of crude oil originating from the North Sea, used as a benchmark for oil prices worldwide.
The Federal Reserve, often referred to as the Fed, is the central bank of the United States, responsible for monetary policy and regulating the banking system.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is a grade of crude oil used as a benchmark in oil pricing, primarily produced in the United States.
A crude oil future is a contract to buy or sell a specific amount of crude oil at a predetermined price on a specified future date.
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