Brent & WTI hover around unch. levels,..........>

OIL: Brent & WTI hover around unch. levels, sticking to tight ranges in Asia-Pac

hours, failing to seriously threaten a break of yesterday's respective lows.

- Negatives for crude over the last 24 hours include: Trade war angst, Sino-U.S.

tension surrounding Hong Kong, an uptick in Norwegian crude production, a

notable build in headline crude stocks in the latest weekly API inventory

estimate & a Reuters source report suggesting that "Russia is unlikely to agree

to deepen cuts in oil output at a meeting with fellow exporters next month, but

could commit to extend existing curbs to support Saudi Arabia. Another industry

source said that Russian companies are seeking to boost their output in 2020 to

support the state budget." The lack of conviction towards deeper cuts shouldn't

be surprising, given that recent OPEC+ rhetoric has focused on cracking down on

those not adhering to their respective production quotas under the pact.

- Also on the supply side, Tuesday saw TC Energy note that there is no timeline

re: full restoration of the Keystone Pipeline ops after the recent spill in

North Dakota & Nigeria's Aiteo confirmed shutdown of its Nembe Creek pipeline,

owing to sabotage. Weekly DoE inventory data will provide interest later today.