Crude oil futures prices held steady on Wednesday as the U.S. government reported a rise in crude and gasoline stocks, but tensions simmered in the Middle East following the killing of the former Lebanese prime minister.

U.S. light crude was up 9 cents a barrel to $47.32 a barrel, around $8 below the record $55.67 struck last October. London’s Brent crude fell 9 cents to $45.30 a barrel.

Prices eased from an early-morning rise after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that crude oil stocks rose 2.1 million barrels last week to 296.4 million and gasoline inventories increased 4.9 million barrels to 221.7 million.

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