08:41 AM EDT, 09/25/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Oil prices weakened early Thursday as traders take profits after prices rose to a three-week high amid Ukraine's attacks on Russia's oil industry and an unexpected drop in the U.S. inventories last week.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil for November delivery was last seen down US$0.27 to $64.72 per barrel, falling off the highest since Sept. 2, while November Brent crude was down $0.22 to $69.09.

Prices this week climbed on supply worries, as Ukraine continues to attack Russian oil refineries and infrastructure as it looks to cut into the number two oil exporter's revenue and reduce fuel supplies to the country's military. An unexpected drop in the U.S. oil inventories reported Wednesday by the Energy Information Administration also added to buying pressure, while the quarterly Dallas Fed Energy Survey said shale drillers are slowing activity, cutting into supply.

"U.S. crude inventories declined last week to the lowest since January, while the latest Dallas Fed Energy Survey painted a grim picture for the shale industry ability to prosper amid Trump's steel tariffs and abrupt shifts in energy policies," Saxo Bank said.

Still, bearish indicators are on the rise, with the arrival of autumn cutting into demand amid a slowing global economy even as OPEC+ completed the return of 2.2-million barrels per day of production cuts on Sept. 1 and a key pipeline carrying oil from northern Iraq to a Turkish port is set to reopen after a years-long closure.

"After nearly two and a half years of closure, reports indicate oil companies in Kurdistan have reached an agreement to resume flows on the Iraq-Turkey pipeline. While the deal awaits final signature and formal ratification, Baghdad announced on Tuesday that exports are to resume imminently," Helima Croft, head of global commodity strategy and MENA research at RBC Capital Markets, wrote.