WTI & Brent trade ~$0.15 above their............>

OIL: WTI & Brent trade ~$0.15 above their respective settlement levels at

writing, after the benchmarks shed around $0.35 on Thursday as crude largely

tracked broader risk appetite.

- Reports that Russia's avg. crude month to date production had ticked up to

11.327mn bpd may have provided some headwinds, with the level representing a

breach of the quota permitted to the country by the OPEC+ production pact. This

is clouded by the contamination issues that Russian crude was subjected to

earlier this year, with some suggesting that the country is pursuing a strategy

of averaging production over the period owing to the issues.

- Elsewhere, there were reports suggesting that the North Sea Buzzard oilfield

will be shut during the first week of September.

- The weekly Baker Hughes rig count data will provide interest later today.