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Traders are pondering whether the United States and its allies are finally getting serious about restricting Russian energy.
Oct. 23, 2025, 6:59 a.m. ET
Oil prices rose sharply on Thursday after President Trump announced sanctions on two large Russian oil companies as his frustration with President Vladimir V. Putin over the war in Ukraine mounted.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose about 5.4 percent to almost $66 a barrel. European natural gas prices also rose more than 3 percent as the European Union approved its own package of sanctions on Russia, which include a ban on imports of Russian liquefied natural gas from 2027.
Richard Bronze, head of geopolitics at Energy Aspects, a research firm, said Mr. Trump’s actions would have both a symbolic and a real impact on a market that has become accustomed to the Trump administration avoiding moves against Russia.
“Just the decision to make this announcement is going to send quite a shock wave through the market,” Mr. Bronze said. “It feels like the president has finally reached the point where he recognizes that Putin is not going to make concessions or engage in meaningful diplomacy without facing significant pressure first.”
Although Russia’s natural gas flows have been crimped, Moscow has been able to maintain oil exports through sales, often at discounted prices, to countries like India and China. The question, analysts say, is whether Mr. Trump has the appetite to squeeze Russia further.
Mr. Bronze said Mr. Trump’s moves, coupled with actions by Britain and the European Union, would probably “have quite a significant impact, particularly on Russian flows to India.”
