CRUDE WRAP: WTI (V6) SETTLES USD 0.79 HIGHER AT 91.01/BBL; BRENT (X6) SETTLES USD 0.98 HIGHER AT 95.63/BBL

The crude complex extended on its weekly gains as Wednesday's US/Iran headlines did little to shift the overall backdrop. Following the strikes from both sides on Tuesday, Iran reiterated that it does not reject negotiations but said the US must fulfil its commitments before Tehran takes steps to reopen Hormuz, while a US source said the latest strikes were pre-emptive and targeted an alleged Iranian plot against submarine cables in the Strait. Trump later remarked that the strikes were due to Iran trying to build a rocket that drops mines, so they took it out. As Trump spoke, benchmarks saw two-way action as he noted renewed campaign against Iran will not continue for too long and oil prices will come down, but then added that he is prepared to do another attack on Iran. Further on this footing, Saudi Foreign Ministry said it has urged all parties to remain calm, halt escalations and respect international law and return to negotiations. Away from the Middle East, the weekly EIA data saw a larger draw than expected in crude stocks, as seen in the private figures last night, while gasoline was a shallower than anticipated draw; distillates noticed an unexpected build. Weekly crude production was up 19k W/W to 13.862mln. Note, little move was seen on the dataset. WTI traded between USD 88.97-92.29/bbl and Brent USD 93.52-97.04/bbl.