Oil plunged, falling over 4% due to regional media reports triggering speculation regarding possible progress for a revived Iran nuclear deal with the US. The sudden fall came during a period of concern over demand for energy consumption.

West Texas Intermediate dropped under $70 per barrel following regional media reports breaking, including in Israel’s Haaretz newspaper, which indicated Iran and the US have made progress in talks designed to revive the agreement between the two nations regarding the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program. Oil trades are closely watching the negotiations, since any deal could involve relaxing sanctions on Iran, which would allow large volumes of Iranian crude to flow onto the market.

Rebecca Babin, a senior energy trader at CIBC Private Wealth, noted that the negotiations are not involving the highest levels of the American government, nor are they involving Iranian decision-makers. She went on, “This knee-jerk move lower is likely an over reaction. However, the price action demonstrates just how quickly crude can turn lower while it struggles to move higher even when there are positive developments.”

Oil has fallen 10% as China has struggled to reopen its economy and generate an economic recovery. In addition, interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve, concerns over a potential global economic slowdown, as well as plentiful Russian  crude flows have weighed on prices.

At the last OPEC meeting Saudi Arabia pledged to cut its output production by one million barrels per day, in an effort to support prices, however following a brief bump in futures, oil has resumed its slow decline.