Oil Prices Steady as Middle East Conflict Concerns Ease

Oil prices were broadly steady on Wednesday, as concerns that conflict may spread in the Middle East and threaten production in one of the world’s major regions for crude production eased slightly.

Brent crude futures slipped 10 cents, or 0.1%, to $80.59 a barrel by 1057 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 19 cents, or 0.2%, to $78.16 per barrel.

After hitting a seven-month low of $76.30 at the beginning of last week, Brent rose more than 3% on Monday to cap a five-day run of gains, closing at $82.30 a barrel.

Iran had vowed a severe response to the killing of the leader of Hamas late last month. Three senior Iranian officials have said that only a ceasefire deal in Gaza would hold Iran back from direct retaliation against Israel for the assassination.

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Israel has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement but it is fighting in Gaza against Hamas after the group attacked Israel in October.

Also hindering oil price gains, the International Energy Agency on Tuesday, trimmed its 2025 estimate for oil demand growth, citing the impact of a weakened Chinese economy on consumption. That came after OPEC cut expected demand for 2024 for similar reasons.

Signs of healthier U.S. demand had supported prices in earlier trading.