Oil continued to move higher overnight, with....>

OIL: Oil continued to move higher overnight, with WTI & Brent adding $0.50 &

$0.60 respectively at writing, underpinned by a softer USD, Venezuelan tensions

& Saudi pledges to cut crude exports.

- Wednesday heralded the release of the latest round of weekly DoE inventory

data, which saw a smaller than exp. rise in U.S. crude oil inventories, a

decline in gasoline inventories & indicated that Saudi Arabian oil shipments to

the U.S. fell to the lowest levels since Oct 2017 (in line with the Kingdom's

commitment to curb output).

- Wednesday also saw Russian Energy Minister Novak note that Russia's January

crude output will be 50K bpd under the levels observed in October.

- Also worth noting that RTRS has reported that "Venezuela's oil inventories

have started to build up at the country's ports and terminals as PDVSA is

finding it cannot export crude at its usual rate due to U.S. sanctions imposed

earlier this week, according to sources and shipping data."