Oil Recovers After Ceasefire Hopes Deflate Prices

9 Oct 2024 , 10:36 AM

Oil prices held steady in Asian trading on Wednesday, as traders weighed the uncertainty surrounding developments in the Middle East war against the persistent unfavourable fundamentals.

Prices had fallen more than 4% in the previous day due to a possible Hezbollah-Israel ceasefire, but markets are still concerned about an Israeli attack on Iran’s oil infrastructure.

Brent crude futures increased 11 cents, or 0.14%, to $77.29 per barrel. US West Texas Intermediate futures increased 3 cents to $73.60 per barrel.

On Tuesday, Hezbollah officials seemed to withdraw from a Gaza truce in exchange for a ceasefire in Lebanon. In a televised broadcast, Hezbollah’s deputy leader Naim Qassem stated that he supports efforts to secure a truce, the first time the end of the conflict in Gaza was not mentioned as a precondition.

In terms of demand, statistics revealed that U.S. crude oil stocks increased by about 11 million barrels last week, far beyond the expectations of analysts polled by Reuters, according to market sources quoting American Petroleum Institute estimates on Tuesday. However, petroleum stocks dropped.

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