Oil prices held steady in Asian trading on Thursday after rising in the previous session, as traders weighed signs of recovering Middle East crude flows against uncertainty over whether the improvement can be sustained.

Brent Oil Futures for December edged up 0.2% to $98.23 per barrel by 20:35 ET (00:35 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were little changed at $90.49 a barrel.

The front-month Brent contract, which expired on Wednesday, settled at $103.50 in the previous session.

Brent gained about 14% in September, its strongest monthly increase since July, while WTI rose about 5%.

Recent data showed some recovery in Gulf exports. Middle East crude exports reached 16.328 million barrels per day in September, their highest level since the conflict began in February, Kpler data showed this week.

Additionally, Saudi Arabia resumed tanker loadings from its Red Sea port of Yanbu after restarting its East-West pipeline.

However, regional flows remain below pre-conflict levels. Kpler data showed Middle East exports in September were still about 3.2 million bpd below February levels, leaving the market sensitive to any renewed disruption.

Diplomacy is also in focus. Iran said on Wednesday it had received a U.S. response to its latest proposal for restoring a ceasefire, after President Donald Trump rejected an earlier plan that involved reopening the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for lifting the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports.

Meanwhile, tight refined-product markets are supporting crude prices.

U.S. crude inventories rose by 922,000 barrels last week, compared with a 700,000-barrel draw expected by analysts, the Energy Information Administration reported on Wednesday.

Fuel inventories, however, pointed to tighter markets. Gasoline stocks fell 1.7 million barrels, while distillate stocks, which include diesel and heating oil, dropped 2.3 million barrels.

The data comes as President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he was still discussing a possible ban on U.S. diesel exports, despite the White House previously denying a report that it was preparing a 90-day blanket ban.

The issue has gained urgency as U.S. diesel prices reached a record $6.53 a gallon last week, while U.S. diesel inventories remain at historically low levels.

Source: Investing.com

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