Crude Little Changed In Asia

WTI and Brent crude futures are essentially unchanged vs. Tuesday’s settlement levels as of typing, after a brief look above Tuesday’s high during Asia hours. A reminder that a lack of fresh, meaningful hawkish inferences from Fed Chair Powell supported broader risk assets during the second half of NY trade on Tuesday, as the major oil benchmarks added the best part of $3.00 apiece.

• •Reports pointed to a smaller than expected drawdown in headline crude stocks in the latest round of API inventory estimates, which was coupled with a drawdown in stocks at the Cushing hub. Meanwhile, gasoline stocks saw a far sharper than expected build, per the same reports. Distillate stocks rounded off the report, experiencing a slightly wider than expected build. The net impact of the report was marginally bearish when it came to the immediate reaction in crude prices, with the builds on the product side dominating the drawdowns outlined above.
• •Weekly DoE inventory data out of the U.S provides the focal point for participants on Wednesday.