WTI & Brent sit $0.55 & $0.40 above their.......>

OIL: WTI & Brent sit $0.55 & $0.40 above their respective settlement levels,

boosted by reports of a surprise, sizeable drawdown in headline crude stocks in

the latest weekly API inventory estimates (reportedly accompanied by an in line

drawdown in distillate stocks, a larger than exp. build in gasoline stocks & a

modest build in stocks at the Cushing hub).

- Crude couldn't escape the grasp of a weak U.S. m'fing ISM print Tuesday, which

pressured the major b'marks before a tepid recovery from lows into settlement.

Elsewhere, the latest BBG survey, released Tues, suggested that OPEC crude

production fell by 1.59mn bpd in Sep (the biggest monthly decline since '02), a

more marked fall than was seen in the RTRS equivalent. The survey estimated that

Saudi production fell by 1.47mn bpd in Sep, hampered by the well documented

attacks on Aramco facilities. We also learnt that Ecuador will be leaving OPEC.

- On the geopolitical front a WSJ reporter has noted that the Saudi Minister of

State for Foreign Affairs stated that the Iranian claims that Saudi Arabia has

sent messages to the Iranian regime are inaccurate.

- DoE Inventory data will likely garner the bulk of attention on Wednesday.