REUTERS - U.S. crude futures last traded at $70.11 per barrel, down 0.9 percent from Monday’s settlement price. Global benchmark Brent crude futures stood at $75.64 per barrel, down 0.7 percent, having risen as high as $76.34 on Monday.

BLOOMBERG - The world’s biggest oil buyer imported 9.64 million barrels a day in April, according to data released by Beijing-based General Administration of Customs on Tuesday. That’s about 4 percent higher than March and beat a previous record of 9.61 million barrels per day reached in January. For the month of April, total purchases were 39.46 million metric tons.

REUTERS - Iraq’s state-run North Oil Company signed an agreement with BP on Monday to triple output from the Kirkuk fields in the north of the country, Oil Minister Jabar al-Luaibi said.

REUTERS - Brent crude oil futures were at $75.71 per barrel, up 84 cents, or 1.12 percent from their last close at 0416 GMT after climbing to $75.89 a barrel earlier in the session, its highest since November 2014. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 0.95 percent to trade at $70.39 per barrel, up 66 cents from their last settlement.

МИНФИН РОССИИ - Средняя цена нефти марки Urals по итогам января – апреля 2018 года составила $ 66,15 за баррель. В 2017 году средняя цена на Urals в январе – апреле составила $ 51,84 за баррель. Средняя цена на нефть марки Urals в апреле 2018 года сложилась в размере $ 69,08 за баррель, что в 1,35 раза выше, чем в апреле 2017 года ($ 51,11 за баррель).

SHANA - Iranian Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh said Tehran preferred "reasonable" price for crude oil in a bid to avoid market instability.

SHANA - The CEO of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) said the country’s crude oil export stood at average 2.170 million barrels per day (mb/d) over the course of the previous Iranian calendar year of 1396 which ended on March 20.

REUTERS - Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 were up 31 cents at $73.44 a barrel by 0900 GMT, after falling nearly 3 percent on Tuesday to its lowest in two weeks. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 50 cents to $67.75 per barrel.

PLATTS - On Wednesday the Central Dispatching Unit said Russia produced 44.878 million mt of liquids in April. This is equivalent to around 10.965 million b/d, using Platts conversion rate of 7.33 barrels per metric ton. This indicates Russia's compliance was 94%, at 282,000 b/d below the October 2016 level of 11.247 million b/d.

BLOOMBERG - The IMF bolstered its estimate for the oil price the kingdom needs to balance the national budget this year to $88 a barrel, 26 percent more than an assessment made in October.

REUTERS - Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 were up 31 cents at $73.44 a barrel by 0900 GMT, after falling nearly 3 percent on Tuesday to its lowest in two weeks. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 50 cents to $67.75 per barrel.

REUTERS - Saudi Arabia has projected a budget deficit of 195 billion riyals ($52 billion) in 2018, or 7.3 percent of GDP, down from 230 billion riyals last year. It plans to balance the budget by 2023.

PLATTS - Japanese imports of crude oil from Saudi Arabia in March rose 3.4% month on month to an average of 1.29 million b/d, preliminary data from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry released Friday showed.

PLATTS - Vietnam is estimated to have produced 1.01 million mt (246,777 b/d) of crude oil in April, down 11.8% from the same month last year, according to data released Sunday by the General Statistics Office.

REUTERS - Brent crude futures LCOc1, the international benchmark, had dipped 50 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $74.14 a barrel by 0633 GMT. Prices climbed as high as $75.47 last week, levels not seen since November, 2014. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were at $67.82 a barrel, down 28 cents, or about 0.4 percent, from their last settlement.