Oil prices steady after sliding on potential Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire

By Colleen Howe and Trixie Yap

(Reuters) -Oil prices steadied in Asian trading on Wednesday as traders weighed developments in the Middle East conflict against continued bearish expectations for demand.

Brent crude futures rose 22 cents, or 0.3%, to $77.4 a barrel by 0349 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures rose 14 cents to $73.71 a barrel.

Prices had plunged more than 4% in the previous session on a possible Hezbollah-Israel ceasefire, but markets remain wary of a potential Israeli attack on Iran's oil infrastructure.

"The everyday dilemma of 'Middle Eastern headlines' moving like a pendulum between 'ceasefire talks' and 'further escalation in attacks' has been distracting investors from reality ... Oil markets are twirled in sentiments of 'buying the rumor' and sidelining the real fundamentals that should matter," said Phillip Nova senior market analyst Priyanka Sachdeva in an email.

The sell-off on Tuesday followed a rally that began after Iran launched a missile barrage at Israel on Oct. 1, culminating in an 8% gain on the week on Friday, the largest in over a year.

Hezbollah officials on Tuesday appeared to back off from a truce in Gaza as a condition for a ceasefire in Lebanon. Hezbollah's deputy leader Naim Qassem said he backed attempts to secure a truce in a televised speech, the first time the end of the war in Gaza was not mentioned as a pre-condition.

On the demand front, data showed U.S. crude oil stocks rose by nearly 11 million barrels last week, much more than analysts polled by Reuters had expected, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday. However, fuel stockpiles fell.

Weak demand continued to underpin the fundamental outlook. The U.S. EIA on Tuesday downgraded its 2024 forecast for global oil demand growth by 20,000 barrels per day (bpd), to 103.1 million bpd, because of weaker industrial production and manufacturing growth in the U.S. and China.

Concerns about a lack of further stimulus measures by Beijing to boost China's economy also capped oil market gains. Officials offered few new details at a press conference on Tuesday.

"China has a part to play as well, with a lack of new stimulus bringing some disappointment. Many market participants were hoping that its fiscal policies will follow in the footstep of the financial 'bazooka' delivered in late-September, but there was clearly a step-down in yesterday's announcement," said IG market strategist Yeap Jun Rong.

(Reporting by Colleen Howe; Editing by Sonali Paul and Kim Coghill)