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Oil prices steady after sliding on potential Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire

Oil prices steadied in Asian trading on Wednesday, as traders weighed uncertainty surrounding developments in the Middle East conflict against continued bearish fundamentals.

Brent crude futures rose 11 cents, or 0.14%, to $77.29 a barrel by 02:23 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures rose 3 cents to $73.60 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.

"We anticipate additional volatility as the market weighs bearish fundamentals against supply risk due to rising Middle East tensions," Macquarie analysts said in a note.

The sell-off in the Tuesday session 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.

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