WTI & Brent have added $0.30 & $0.40............>

OIL: WTI & Brent have added $0.30 & $0.40 respectively at writing, although the

major crude benchmarks have stuck to tight ranges in Asia-Pacific hours. This

comes after the metrics moved higher on Wednesday, with a continued focus on

Saudi's pledged crude output cut and lower exports to the U.S.

- The latest round of DoE inventory data saw a larger than expected build in

headline crude stocks, while distillate stocks provided a surprise build,

gasoline stocks provided a slightly lower than expected build and Cushing stocks

fell. U.S. crude production was flat W/W.

- Wednesday saw the release of the IEA's latest monthly report. The report saw

the Agency leave its 2019 global oil demand forecast unchanged, while it cut its

2019 OPEC crude demand forecast, and raised its non-OPEC supply estimate for

2019. The agency also suggested that the Venezuelan crisis risks a disruption of

the global crude market, based upon scarcity of the variety of crude that the

Latin American country produces.

- Reports noted that the closure of TransCanada's Keystone oil pipeline will

last "days not weeks," following a leak in Missouri last week.