CRUDE WRAP: WTI (V6) SETTLES USD 0.33 HIGHER AT 84.39/BBL; BRENT (V6) SETTLES USD 0.60 HIGHER AT USD 91.62/BBL

The crude complex saw slight gains on Wednesday in light geopolitical newsflow. While US/Iran updates were fairly sparse, the most notable update was arguably an Iranian official remarking that a 'new passage' in the Strait of Hormuz will soon be announced in a joint statement with Oman. In the weekly EIA data, which saw modest downside in benchmarks, crude and gasoline stocks saw unexpected builds, while distillates saw a larger draw than anticipated. The US SPR fell by 5.3mln barrels to 293.4mln. Overall, crude production was up 25k bbls W/W to 13.83mln. In the private inventory figures, crude saw a slight draw. During the day, crude saw two-way trade before seeing a bout of weakness into settlement, albeit on nothing headline-driven. For the record, little move was seen on FOMC Minutes. WTI traded between USD 83.45-85.84/bbl and Brent USD 90.40-92.81/bbl.

A settlement wrap of this sort, modest gains on thin geopolitical newsflow with a mixed EIA print, fits the recurring pattern in which crude takes its cue from whichever of the two drivers is loudest on the day: supply-risk headlines or the weekly inventory cycle. Sessions where both are quiet tend to produce two-way trade and a drift into the close, exactly as described, with price action that carries little signal into the next session. The EIA configuration here, builds in crude and gasoline against a larger distillate draw, is a familiar split: the market historically weights the distillate line more heavily when product tightness is the live concern, and the SPR draw continues a long-running depletion theme that has periodically fed into debates over refill policy and its implicit floor under demand. On the geopolitical side, Iranian rhetoric around the Strait of Hormuz is a recurring feature that has on past occasions added a risk premium to the front of the curve and widened the Brent-WTI spread only when accompanied by tangible disruption to shipping or insurance costs; remarks alone have tended to fade. The non-reaction to FOMC minutes is consistent with episodes where crude decouples briefly from the rates and dollar channel. Worth noting next are the joint Iran-Oman statement if it materialises, freight and insurance pricing in the Gulf, and whether the next EIA confirms the product-build pattern.