Oil prices drop ahead of Fed decision, China Data

October 30, 2023 (MLN): Oil prices started the week lower as market participants remained cautious ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve policy meeting and China's manufacturing data due this week.

Brent crude is currently trading at $88.16 per barrel, down by 0.63% on the day.

While West Texas Intermediate crude is trading at $84.05 per barrel, down by 0.85% on the day.

It is important to mention that oil prices concluded their two-week upward trajectory driven by the escalating conflicts in the Middle East last week.

Both Benchmarks, Brent Crude and WTI went down by 2.83% and 1.24 respectively.

"Despite an escalation in the Hamas-Israel war, the ground invasion was widely expected," said CMC Markets analyst Tina Teng, as Reuters reported.

"The weekend playout signals no further expansion into a wider regional war, which caused a retreat in oil prices," she added.

Both Brent and WTI had ended Friday up 3% after Israel stepped up ground incursions into Gaza, stoking worries that the conflict could widen in a region that accounts for a third of global oil production.

Investors are watching for the outcome of Wednesday's U.S. Fed meeting, U.S. jobs data and earnings from tech giant Apple Inc for signs of any economic slowdown that could affect fuel demand in the world's top oil consumer.

The Fed is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged, however, while the central banks of Britain and Japan are also set to review their policies.

China will report its October manufacturing and services PMIs this week, with investors looking out for more signs that the economy of the world's top crude importer is stabilizing and fuel demand is improving after supportive measures by Beijing.

As developments in the Middle East keep investors on edge and prices volatile, Brent and WTI fell on the week last week, for the first time in three.

"But the weekend showed the armed conflict remains limited to Israel and Gaza," said Vandana Hari, founder of oil market analysis provider Vanda Insights. "In that light, crude looks overbought. I expect it to continue sliding."

On Monday, Palestinians in northern Gaza reported fierce air and artillery strikes as Israeli troops backed by tanks pressed into the enclave with a ground assault that spurred more international calls to protect civilians.

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