OGJ - US crude oil inventories for the week ended Jan. 25, excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, increased by 900,000 bbl from the previous week, data from the US Energy Information Administration showed.

OGJ - US commercial crude oil inventories, excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, remained virtually unchanged for the week ended Dec. 28, 2018,

AN - “Based on available figures, we have around 26 million barrels of surplus ... compared to 340 million barrels in early 2017,” Al-Mazrouei told a press conference in Kuwait City.

OGJ - US crude oil inventories, excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, decreased by 500,000 bbl for the week ended Dec. 14, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration.

U.S. EIA - U.S. commercial crude oil inventories (excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve) increased by 10.3 million barrels from the previous week.

U.S. EIA - Global inventories are projected to increase and put downward pressure on crude oil prices.

U.S. EIA - Crude oil inventories held at Cushing, Oklahoma, decreased by more than half since this time last year, recently falling to lows last reached in 2014. Logistical factors and strong demand for crude oil from both domestic refining and exports markets have contributed to the steep year-over-year decrease.

EIA - Brent crude oil spot prices averaged $74 per barrel (b) in July, largely unchanged from the average in June. EIA expects Brent spot prices will average $72/b in 2018 and $71/b in 2019. EIA expects West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices will average about $6/b lower than Brent prices in 2018 and in 2019.

PLATTS - "With Saudi Arabia stressing the need for more capex to meet future oil demand and replace the natural decline from aging fields, and thus presumably a higher price to incentivize investment, supply cuts, in one form or another, may be extended to 2019," the note said.

EIA - The extended period of oversupply in global petroleum markets that began before the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) November 2016 agreement to cut production has ended, and the large buildup of global inventories during that period has now been drawn down. As OPEC plans to reconvene on June 22, markets now appear more in balance, but uncertainty remains going forward.