AN - Bank of America Merrill Lynch has retained its forecast that oil will average at $70 this year, after prices rebounded from a two-year low in December.

U.S. EIA - EIA forecasts Brent prices will average $61 per barrel (b) in 2019 and $65/b in 2020. In 2018, Brent prices averaged $71/b.

SHANA - the OPEC Conference that unanimously decided on December 7 to adjust OPEC overall production by 0.8 mb/d from October 2018 levels, effective as of January 2019, for an initial period of six months.

PLATTS - The NYMEX February natural gas futures contract jumped 49.2 cents in trading Monday to settle at $3.591/MMBtu with colder weather forecast for the eastern half of the US toward the end of the month.

REUTERS - International Brent crude oil futures were at $59.88 per barrel at 0816 GMT, down 60 cents, or 1 percent from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 59 cents, or 1.1 percent, at $51 a barrel.

PLATTS - Russia has already lowered its oil output by around 30,000 b/d compared with October volumes, used as a baseline under the latest OPEC/non-OPEC crude production agreement, and still plans to reach a cut of 50,000 b/d by the end of January, Russian energy minister Alexander Novak said Friday.

REUTERS - India’s oil imports from Iran fell by 41 percent in December to 302,000 barrels per day oil (bpd), ship tracking data reviewed by Reuters showed, as pressure from U.S. sanctions took effect.

PLATTS - Oil prices averaging $70/b in 2018 underscore the need for more investment in new supply, UAE energy minister Suhail al-Mazrouei told delegates at the Atlantic Council's Global Energy Forum in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.

REUTERS - International Brent crude futures LCOc1 were at $61.62 per barrel at 0749 GMT, down 6 cents, or 0.1 percent, from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were 4 cents above their last settlement, at $52.63 per barrel.

REUTERS - U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures CLc1 were at $50.42 per barrel at 0752 GMT, up 64 cents, or 1.3 percent, from their last settlement. That marked the first time this year that WTI has topped $50 a barrel. International Brent crude futures LCOc1 were up 69 cents, or 1.2 percent, at $59.41 per barrel.

PLATTS - OPEC crude production in December tumbled 630,000 b/d month on month, an S&P Global Platts survey of industry officials, analysts and shipping data showed Tuesday, but the organization still has much more cutting to do to reach its new quotas for 2019.

MEOG - Saudi Arabia reportedly cut its crude production by more than 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) in December 2018. Saudi crude production sat at 10.65 million bpd (mbpd) that month, down from 11.07 mbpd in November.

PLATTS - The US Energy Information Administration forecasts that Venezuelan oil production will fall below 1 million b/d in the second half of 2019, according to Erik Kreil, an international energy analysis team leader with the EIA.

REUTERS - Brent crude futures LCOc1 were at $57.86 per barrel at 0538 GMT, up 80 cents, or 1.4 percent, from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures CLc1 were at $48.77 per barrel, up 81 cents, or 1.7 percent.

REUTERS - Iraq said on Friday it was committed to the OPEC+ output-cutting deal and would keep its oil production at 4.513 million barrels per day for the first half of 2019.