Crude Oil Slumps Amid Profit-Taking, Hamas-Israel Peace Deal

(RTTNews) - Crude oil fell sharply on Thursday due to both signs of an end to the Middle East conflict getting brighter along with some profit-taking by investors from the recent highs.

WTI Crude Oil for November delivery was last seen trading down by $1.10 (or 1.76%) at $61.45 per barrel.

In the Middle East, the drawn out-conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas militants is seeing an end of sorts.

Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump proposed a 20-point peace plan to end the Gaza war that was welcomed by the Arab nations.

Trump announced yesterday that both sides have agreed on the first phase of the peace framework. The first phase includes the exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, a withdrawal of Israeli troops from parts of Gaza, and permission for the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

This peace deal is expected to eventually decrease Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, easing tensions in the Middle East and promoting safe transit of oil and energy. This breakthrough news weighed on the oil prices.

Meanwhile, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war is taking deteriorating turns day by day.

On August 15, 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump met in Anchorage, Alaska to discuss ways to end the three-and-a-half-plus-year Russia-Ukraine conflict. However, the summit failed to produce any tangible results.

The Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Sergei Ryabkhov has now blamed European nations for derailing the peace efforts.

Recently, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked the U.S. to provide them with Tomahawk missiles to combat Russia. However, Russia has warned that if it happens, Russia will destroy the missiles as well as the launchers. Both sides are now targeting each other's oil refineries and even some nuclear facilities, taking the war to a new level.

A peace deal between Russia and Ukraine would have allowed more Russian oil to flow into global markets. As Russia ignores calls for peace, the likelihood of sanctions on Russian exports by the U.S. and the West is increasing. The "sanctions threat" recently pushed oil prices on the upside.

Yesterday's U.S. Energy Information Administration's data painted a mixed picture.

For the week ending October 3, crude oil stocks rose by 3.715 million barrels. However, gasoline stocks declined by 1.6 million barrels, distillate stocks decreased to 2.0 million barrels, and heating oil stocks fell by 60,000 barrels.

For the week ending October 3, net crude imports rose by 731,000 barrels per day.

On Sunday, the OPEC+ alliance announced plans for a modest production increase in November by 137,000 barrels per day. This stood in contrast to the speculated 150,000 bpd of hike.

After a two and a half years freeze, Iraq has commenced oil exports from semi-autonomous Kurdistan to Turkey. U.S. oil major Exxon Mobil has signed an agreement with Iraq to help it develop its giant Majnoon oilfield and expand oil exports.

Today the EIA reported that China increased crude oil inventories by about 900,000 bpd between January and August 2025. As China does not report data on its oil inventories, the EIA assessed the nation's stock growth based on imports, exports, refining, and oil inventory data from third-party and official sources. The stock builds in China have been limiting the downward price pressure.

Crude oil being a dollar-denominated commodity, traders are anticipating the October 28-29 U.S. Federal Reserve's meeting wherein the central bank is expected to implement another rate cut that could weigh upon the dollar.