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Crude Oil Prices Edge Lower as Market Awaits Middle East Ceasefire Developments

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Crude oil prices edged lower on Wednesday as the market waited for developments in the Middle East ceasefire, with the war continuing to drive price movements.

Brent crude at last look lost 0.4% to US$107.37/barrel and West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.7% to $101.51/barrel. The market is also awaiting the result of a summit in Beijing between U.S. President Donald Trump and China's Xi Jinping, Reuters said in a Wednesday report.

"The market remains highly reactive to every update from the region, meaning sharp swings are likely to persist. Any further escalation or direct threat to supply flows could quickly revive strong upside momentum in both Brent and WTI," Reuters quoted Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at Phillip Nova, as saying.

Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency said global oil supply will not meet total demand this year amid impacts of the war in the Middle East.

"The latest IEA oil market report just showed the magnitude of the disruption with large oil inventory declines over the last two months," UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo was quoted as saying.

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