Crude has regained some poise after news that...>

OIL: Crude has regained some poise after news that NSA director & foreign

policy/trade hawk, John Bolton, had resigned/was removed from his post hit on

Tuesday, which pressured the space in NY hours. WTI & Brent last deal ~$0.40 &

$0.30 higher, with the modest recovery facilitated by reports pointing to a

larger than exp. draw in the latest headline API crude inventory estimate, which

was accompanied by a larger than exp. draw in gasoline stocks, a draw in stocks

at Cushing and a small build in distillate stocks. Tuesday also provided

familiar rhetoric from some of the top names operating under the OPEC+

agreement. OPEC Sec-Gen Barkindo noted "that so far there are no alternative

plans for the OPEC+ agreement," while Russian Energy Min Novak affirmed his

country's cooperation to the new Saudi Energy Minister, AbS. Elsewhere, the EIA

cut its '19 global oil demand growth exp. by 100K bpd to 890K bpd. The agency

has now cut that particular forecast across 7 consecutive months.

- Finally, it is worth flagging that RTRS sources revealed that "Mexico's new

formula for its oil hedging & pricing of its oil export sales now includes U.S.

WTI crude delivered to East Houston."