WTI & Brent trade $0.80 & $0.60 higher then.....>

OIL: WTI & Brent trade $0.80 & $0.60 higher then their respective settlement

levels at writing, supported by reports pointing to a larger than expected

drawdown in headline crude inventories in the latest weekly API estimate.

- Tuesday saw the benchmarks settle a touch higher, after paring gains into

settlement. The early bid was aided by reports that Russia's oil output has

moderated at the start of July, although this was likely due to growing divides

between pipeline operator Transneft and producer Rosneft, centring on the recent

contamination issues, as opposed to the country deciding to initiate deeper

production cuts in the wake of the latest OPEC+ agreement.

- Familiar geopolitical themes (namely Iran generating worry around the Strait

of Hormuz) and questions over the health of the global economy continue to

dominate matters.

- It is also worth noting that Royal Dutch Shell, BP & BHP are removing staff

from 10 offshore energy platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. They produce over 350K

bpd on a cumulative basis.

- Focus Wednesday will fall on the latest weekly DoE inventory data.