Oil is essentially flat in thin trade in........>

OIL: Oil is essentially flat in thin trade in Asia, WTI last up up $0.03 at

$48.54, holding the gains from Friday after popping above the $48 handle gaining

$2.05 from lows of $46.46 on Thursday.

- Headline oil rigs fell by 5 on Friday, dropping to 763 and matching the same

level on July 7 and denoting the biggest fall since January.

- The latest CFTC COT report, though still showing net longs, was not positive

for oil as it showed a reduction in bullish positions for the second week in a

row following a streak of five straight gains.

- It was reported over the weekend that Shell loaded their first shipment of

crude from Libya for five years as the country brings supply back to the market.

- MNI technical analysis sees support at $48.47 - Hourly support Aug 18,

resistance is seen at $49.30 - High Aug 18.