CRUDE WRAP: WTI (U6) SETLES USD 0.07 HIGHER AT USD 83.27/BBL; BRENT (V6) SETTLES USD 0.07 HIGHER AT USD 88.98/BBL

The crude complex was little changed as major developments in the Middle East were few. Recapping, in the European morning, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said they continue to activate direct and indirect diplomatic channels between the US and Iran and that the ceasefire deadline, which ends in 5 days, could be extended. However, later reports citing an Iranian source said there has been absolutely no progress on the potential return of the US to the MoU. Middle East updates thereafter were pretty light, although US President Trump offered the usual rhetoric, remarking that the US has total control over the Strait of Hormuz and that it'll keep it. Away from geopols, IEA OMR forecasted an oil market deficit of around 1.8mln BPD in Q3, more than double its prior 800k BPD forecast, and noted that inventory buffers are rapidly depleting, increasing the urgency of reopening the Strait. The OPEC MOMR, meanwhile, was uneventful. In the weekly EIA data, which saw short-lived downside in crude, was a very hefty and unexpected crude build, in line with the private metrics last night. US crude inventories rose by 11.308mln bbl w/e Aug 7th (commercial: +17.423mln bbls, SPR: -6.115mln bbls). Gasoline and Distillates saw slightly shallower draws than expected. Overall, production was up 1k W/W to 13.805mln. For the record, WTI traded between USD 82.40-84.35/bbl and Brent USD 88.10-90.07/bbl.