REUTERS - Brent crude has gained 5.7 percent this week, rising to $71.34 a barrel on Tuesday, the highest since late 2014, although the price has since fallen back and was $70.98 a barrel by 0907 GMT LCOc1, down 6 cents.U.S. crude futures CLc1 were at $65.55 a barrel, up 4 cents on the day.

EIA - Brent crude oil spot prices averaged $66 per barrel (b) in March. EIA forecasts Brent spot prices will average about $63/b in both 2018 and 2019. EIA expects West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices to average $4/b lower than Brent prices in both 2018 and 2019. NYMEX WTI futures and options contract values for July 2018 delivery that traded during the five-day period ending April 5, 2018, suggest a range of $52/b to $78/b encompasses the market expectation for July 2018 WTI prices at the 95% confidence level.

EIA - Two out of three of EIA’s measures of natural gas production in the United States set records in 2017. U.S. natural gas production measured as gross withdrawals reached 90.9 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2017, the highest volume on record according to EIA’s Monthly Crude Oil, Lease Condensate, and Natural Gas Production Report. U.S. natural gas production measured as marketed natural gas production also reached a new high, but dry natural gas production did not exceed 2015 levels.

PLATTS - Russian flows of natural gas into Germany and Slovakia combined rose above 400 million cu m/d in each of the final three days of Week 14 for the first time on almost five months as Brotherhood flows increased, data from S&P Global Platts Analytics showed.

EIA - Iran holds the world’s fourth-largest proved crude oil reserves and the world’s second-largest natural gas reserves. Despite its abundant reserves, Iran’s crude oil production has undergone years of underinvestment and effects of international sanctions. Natural gas production has expanded, the growth has been lower than expected. Since the lifting of sanctions that targeted Iran’s oil sector, oil production has reached more than 3.8 million barrels per day in 2017.

REUTERS - U.S. WTI crude futures CLc1 were at $62.31 a barrel at 0643 GMT, up 25 cents, or 0.4 percent, from their previous settlement. Brent crude futures LCOc1 were at $67.42 per barrel, up 31 cents, or 0.5 percent.

BAKER HUGHES A GE - U.S. Rig Count is up 10 rigs from last week to 1,003, with oil rigs up 11 to 808, gas rigs unchanged at 194, and miscellaneous rigs down 1 to 1. Canada Rig Count is down 23 rigs from last week to 111, with oil rigs down 23 rigs to 48 and gas rigs unchanged at 63.

REUTERS - Brent crude LCOc1 for June delivery briefly traded flat at 1322 GMT at $68.33 per barrel after falling as much as 66 cents earlier. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery CLc1 erased some of its previous losses, but was still down 15 cents at $63.39 a barrel.

EIA - Annual average U.S. crude oil production reached 9.3 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2017, an increase of 464,000 b/d from 2016 levels after declining by 551,000 b/d in 2016. In November 2017, monthly U.S. crude oil production reached 10.07 million b/d, the highest monthly level of crude oil production in U.S. history.

BEA - The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis announced that the goods and services deficit was $57.6 billion in February, up $0.9 billion from $56.7 billion in January.

BAKER HUGHES A GE - The worldwide rig count for March 2018 was 2,179, down 92 from the 2,271 counted in February 2018, and up 194 from the 1,985 counted in March 2017.

REUTERS - Oil prices slipped with Brent crude futures off 13 cents to $67.99 a barrel, while U.S. crude fell 11 cents to $63.40 a barrel.

REUTERS - U.S. WTI crude futures CLc1 were at $65.21 barrel at 0122 GMT, up 27 cents, or 0.4 percent, from their previous settlement. Brent crude futures LCOc1 were fetching $69.71 per barrel, up 37 cents, or 0.55 percent.

EIA - US oil production averaged 9.964 million b/d in January, up nearly 1.14 million b/d compared with January 2017, but about 102,000 b/d below November's record domestic output,

SHANA - Leaders of the UAE, OPEC’s biggest producer Saudi Arabia and non-OPEC member Russia support extending energy cooperation beyond 2018. Cooperation on the part of a politically influential oil producer like Russia would add to the weight and influence of OPEC in global energy markets, both politically and in terms of decision-making.