On the evening of the 17th Beijing time, international crude oil futures remained basically flat on Thursday morning after four consecutive days of decline. The market continues to monitor the developments in the Middle East. Traders' concerns about disruptions in Middle East supplies have eased somewhat, and it is expected that the market will be in surplus next year.

As of press time, the price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for November delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose by 1 cent, or 0.01%, to $70.40 per barrel. Since the beginning of the year, the price of US WTI crude oil has fallen by nearly 2%.

The price of Brent crude oil futures for December delivery on the Intercontinental Exchange Europe rose by 2 cents, or 0.03%, to $74.24 per barrel. Since the beginning of the year, the price of Brent crude oil futures, which serves as a global benchmark for crude oil prices, has fallen by over 3%.

Although Israel has not retaliated against Iran's crude oil targets so far, Aditya Saraswat, head of Middle East research at Rystad Energy, said the situation "could change at any time".

He said, "In a widespread regional conflict scenario, conflicts between Iran and Israel could severely affect natural gas exports and lead to delays in oil development projects."