WTI Holding Above $40.00, Just

WTI and Brent held to tight ranges in Asia-Pac hours, both shedding ~$0.10 vs. settlement levels, with the former hovering just above $40.00. This comes after the benchmarks added ~$0.75 apiece on Tuesday, shaking off the impetus from a negative session for the U.S. equity space.

• Positive indications surrounding Chinese crude demand (import data and comments from Saudi Aramco) helped the bid yesterday, although some have suggested that Chinese import demand is expected to plateau, given crude inventory levels in China.
• OPEC's downgrade of its oil demand forecast for both 2020 and 2021 didn't really change much.
• We also saw the UAE's Energy Minister re-affirm the OPEC+ production outlook, while Russian President Putin & Saudi crown Prince MbS stressed the importance of the OPEC+ pact in a phone call.
• Elsewhere, U.S. Gulf production continues to tick back online, with Tuesday's BSEE estimate pointing to ~44% of Gulf production being shut in.
• Weekly API inventory estimates will hit later today.