The price of Brent and WTI crude oil fell by more than 2%, ending a five-day rally, which was caused by partial profit-taking and news from China, which reduced demand for risky assets.
China's top economic planner ended a highly anticipated briefing without new stimulus measures, which disappointed investors. The National Development and Reform Commission said today that it's confident in reaching economic targets this year.
Meanwhile, further price declines are limited by the tense situation in the Middle East and expectations of Israeli retaliatory measures against Iran. The Middle East accounts for a third of the world's crude oil supplies, and U.S. President Joe Biden tried to dissuade Israel from attacking Iran's oil fields. However, some analysts consider an attack on Iran's oil infrastructure unlikely, and warn that oil prices could plummet if Israel focuses on any other target. But even if the attack is aimed at Iranian oil facilities, OPEC has 7 million barrels per day of spare capacity to compensate for the loss of oil production.
Investors are also preparing for the publication of data on oil reserves in the United States. Later today (at 20:30 GMT), the American Petroleum Institute will present its report, and tomorrow official data from the Energy Information Administration will be released. According to economists' forecasts, in the week ended October 4, oil reserves increased by 1.9 million barrels.