WTI & Brent sit $0.20 & $0.10 above their.......>

OIL: WTI & Brent sit $0.20 & $0.10 above their respective settlement levels at

writing, after surging yesterday.

- A combination of a weaker USD in the wake of the latest round of Fed

communique, bullish DoE inventory data (excluding a larger than expected build

in distillates and an uptick in production in the latest week) and around one

third of the Gulf of Mexico's productive capacity being shut in owing to a major

storm combined to propel crude higher on Wednesday

- Asian hours saw reports note that five Iranian ships (reportedly owned by the

Iranian Revolutionary Guard) asked a British oil tanker in the Gulf to stop on

Wednesday, but they backed off after receiving a warning from a British warship.

There was no notable reaction to the story, with the events viewed as a

retaliation to the recent seizure of an Iranian tanker in Gibraltar.