WTI & Brent trade around $0.40 lower than.......>

OIL: WTI & Brent trade around $0.40 lower than their respective settlement

levels at writing, with broader risk aversion weighing in Asia-Pacific trade

thus far.

- This comes after the complex was pressured on Wednesday as DoE inventory data

largely confirmed what we saw in the API estimate on Tuesday evening; a

"surprise" build in headline crude and gasoline stocks, with the aforementioned

DoE releases providing larger builds than their API counterparts. U.S. crude

production ticked higher in the latest week, according to the data.

- Elsewhere, suggestions pointed to a high likelihood of crude starting to move

through Russia's Druzhba pipeline in the immediate term (if it hasn't done so

already), while BBG reports suggested that Russian oil production had moderated

to 11.15mn BPD on average during May (as of May 20).