WTI & Brent hovers just above settlement........>

OIL: WTI & Brent hovers just above settlement levels, with the benchmarks set to

record gains this week. Traders are still focused on the storm that is set to

hit the U.S., even after several severity downgrades.

- Thurs saw the IEA release its monthly report, as the Agency maintained its

global oil demand growth forecasts for '18 & '19. The IEA also noted that the

global oil market is tightening, with a focus on the shortfall in production

owing to the Venezuelan production issues, if other producers do not take up the

slack. The Agency's estimate for OPEC's production in August represented a

9-month high of 32.63mn b/d.

- U.S. Pres Trump tweeted that he is under no pressure to make a trade deal with

China, which weighed on crude on Thurs.

- Thurs also saw Platt's sources highlight that Iran is storing somewhere

between 15-17mn bbls worth of unsold oil on tankers. Elsewhere the North Sea

Buzzard oilfield's restart continues to be delayed.

- Reports Thurs suggested that Genscape's Cushing storage est. had fallen W/W.

- Traders await the latest Baker Hughes rig count data, due after hours today.