Crude has benefitted from the risk rally........>

OIL: Crude has benefitted from the risk rally evident in Asia-Pac hours, with

WTI ~$1.10 above settlement levels, while Brent prints +$0.90. A reminder that

the OPEC+ JTC meeting has been extended through at least Thursday, with various

source reports suggesting that Russia is pushing back against deeper production

cuts, with an apparent preference for extending the current accord. Such

headline flow weighed on crude into the close on Weds, but the benchmarks still

managed to settle over $1.00 on the broader risk-on feel, extending gains

post-settlement.

- Elsewhere, Wednesday saw the latest round of weekly DoE inventory data, which

revealed a slightly larger than expected build in headline crude stocks, a

surprise draw in gasoline stocks, a build at the Cushing hub and a larger than

expected draw in distillate stocks (largely inline with the API estimate

released the night before).

- Also worth flagging that Wednesday saw experts tell the Global Times that

"China's oil demand could see its first Y/Y decline since 2009 in the first

quarter of the year due to the coronavirus outbreak, which may reduce 200K bpd."