Oil prices steady as Brent crude holds at $79.62 per barrel

Oil prices stabilized on Wednesday after sharp declines in the previous two trading sessions, as investors awaited developments in efforts to resolve the conflict between the United States and Iran.

Brent crude futures rose by 26 cents, or about 0.33 percent, reaching $79.62 per barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures also gained 12 cents, or 0.16 percent, to $75.90 per barrel.

According to Reuters, market sources on Tuesday cited data from the American Petroleum Institute indicating that US crude oil and gasoline inventories increased last week, while distillate stocks declined.

The official data from the US Energy Information Administration, part of the Department of Energy, is expected to be released later on Wednesday.