WTI & Brent were virtually unchanged............>

OIL: WTI & Brent were virtually unchanged overnight, edging back from the early

session highs that came about from an uptick in risk appetite. Crude had

benefitted from the increase in risk appetite that was apparent on Monday,

drawing further support from source reports pointing to 109% compliance to

production cuts from the OPEC+ countries in July, as Russian Energy Minister

Novak pointed to steady production in Russia during August (m/m terms).

Elsewhere IEA chief Birol suggested that Venezuelan crude production is set to

fall further, also highlighting the fragility of Libyan & Nigerian production

despite recent improvements. Monday saw reports that Iran has full control of

the Gulf & the Strait of Hormuz, while China's Sinopec noted that halting

Iranian imports would hurt its business. UK press reported that the UK is trying

to prevent the latest round of U.S. sanctions on Iran.

- Reports also suggested that OPEC+ nations are to hold a teleconference ahead

of the Algerian summit, likely in early/mid-Sep.

- API inventory data is due late on Tuesday, with analysts expecting a headline

crude draw of ~700K bbls in this week's DoE data, due Wednesday.