LONDON, Oct 17 Reuters Oil prices were broadly flat on Thursday as investors waited on developments in the Middle East, the release of official U.S. oil inventory data and details on China39;s stimulus plans.

Brent crude futures were up 11 cents to 74.33 a barrel at 1114 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were at 70.47 a barrel, up 8 cents.

Both benchmarks settled down on Wednesday, closing at their lowest levels since Oct. 2 for a second day in a row, after OPEC and the International Energy Agency cut demand forecasts for 2024 and 2025.

Prices have also fallen as fears eased that a retaliatory attack by Israel on Iran for the latter39;s Oct. 1 missile strike could disrupt oil supplies, though uncertainty remains over how the conflict in the Middle East will develop.

The country39;s forthcoming retaliatory measures against Iran are still not clear, said John Evans of oil broker PVM.

He added that the Middle East will certainly provide enough reason to move oil prices again soon enough and investors today will also be preoccupied with an abundance of financial data.

Among that data are U.S. oil inventories. The Energy Information Administration EIA will release its official government data at 11 a.m. EDT 1500 GMT.

The American Petroleum Institute39;s Wednesday figures showed crude and fuel stocks fell last week, market sources said, against expectations of a buildup in crude stockpiles.

Any signs of weak demand in EIA39;s weekly inventory…