Most Of Post-Settlement Gains Unwound

WTI & Brent sit ~$0.10 & ~$0.25 above settlement levels at typing after pulling back from session highs as Chinese equity markets struggled on Wednesday. The early gains were witnessed in the wake of a surprise drawdown in headline crude stocks in the latest round of API inventory estimates.

• A quick reminder that Tuesday saw the latest EIA STEO reveal a 130K bpd cut to the Agency's '22 world oil demand growth forecast, while its estimate for '21 was marked higher by 60K bpd. Subsequently, the White House noted it had no announcement on the potential release of SPR stocks on Tuesday, which allowed crude to add to gains into settlement, while the Biden admin pointed to continued dialogue with other nations (including OPEC+) re: crude supply.
• Elsewhere, Asia-Pac hours saw Russia stress a continued need to monetise its resources, with the country's Energy Minister noting that "it's too early to talk about the end of the oil era."
• The latest weekly DoE inventory release headlines on Wednesday.