Oil prices fall more than $2 as Iraqi, Kurdish authorities agree to export deal

Oil prices drop over $2 as Iraq and Kurdish authorities finalize an export deal, easing supply concerns amid ongoing conflict.

Oil prices fell more than $2 per barrel ​on Wednesday (March 18, 2026) to pare some of Tuesday's (March 17, 2026) sharp gains after the ⁠Iraqi government and Kurdish authorities reached a deal to resume oil exports via Turkiye's Ceyhan port, providing modest relief to concerns about supplies from West Asia.

But with no signs of a de-escalation ‌of the Iran conflict, which has left oil exports from West Asia largely halted, Brent futures prices have settled above $100 per barrel for ‌the prior four consecutive sessions. After rising more than 3% on Tuesday, Brent ‌futures retreated $2.26, ⁠or 2.19%, to $101.16 a barrel by 0429 GMT on Wednesday. The U.S. West ⁠Texas Intermediate crude dropped $2.99, or 3.11%, to $93.22.

Iraq's Oil Minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani said oil flows from Ceyhan were expected to start at 07.00 GMT on Wednesday, according to state media. Two oil officials said last ​week that Iraq was seeking to ‌pump at least 1,00,000 barrels per day of crude through the port.

"The news provided some relief to the market. Any additional volume finding its way back to the market is valuable under the current situation, so prices moved down to ‌reflect that," said LSEG senior analyst Anh Pham.

"But we are still in a $100 ​per barrel oil environment, and the crisis around the Strait of Hormuz shows no sign of stopping yet," Anh Pham said.

“Oil production from Iraq's main southern ⁠oilfields, where most of its crude is produced and exported, has plunged 70% to just 1.3 million bpd,” sources said on March 8, as the Iran conflict effectively shut the ‌vital Strait of Hormuz through which some 20% of global oil passes.