Ukraine has stepped up its attacks on Russian refineries and oil infrastructure, which is bullish for crude prices as it curbs Russian crude exports and tightens global oil supplies. Last Thursday, Ukraine attacked Russia's Salavat and Volograd oil refineries, halting around 300,000 bpd of refining capacity. Last Tuesday, Russia's Transneft Pipeline, which handles more than 80% of the country's oil, restricted the ability to store crude. Also, the Kirishi refinery, one of Russia's biggest refineries that ha ...

Core Insights - Crude oil and gasoline prices have reached 1.5-week highs, driven by a decline in the dollar index and concerns over Russian oil exports due to increased Ukrainian drone attacks [2][3] - The ongoing conflict in Ukraine is tightening global oil supplies, with significant damage to Russian oil infrastructure impacting crude processing rates [3][6] Price Movements - October WTI crude oil is up by 1.08 (+1.71%) and October RBOB gasoline is up by 0.0209 (+1.04%) [1] - A decrease in crude oil stored on tankers, which fell by 7.2% week-over-week to 67.96 million barrels, is also supporting oil prices [5] Economic Indicators - Strong US economic data, including a 0.6% month-over-month increase in retail sales and a 0.2% rise in manufacturing production, is bullish for energy demand and crude prices [4] Geopolitical Factors - The war in Ukraine is leading to potential new sanctions on Russian energy exports, which could further reduce global oil supplies [6] - Recent drone attacks on Russian refineries have significantly curtailed crude-processing runs to 4.98 million barrels per day, marking the lowest monthly average in over 3.25 years [3]