•Global crude futures were a touch weaker Thursday with early buying during Asian trading hours creating the only noticeable movement on an otherwise rangebound session, sources said. "It has quietened down in comparison with yesterday," said a London-based broker. "On an outright basis, $82.50-$82.75/b is the current support level for Brent."

•The market appears to be taking a breather after significant volatility late in Wednesday's trading session after the US inventory data announced by the Energy Information Administration. Despite an overall build in crude stocks, up by 1.8 million barrels from the previous week, there was an actual draw of 200,000 barrels at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point of the NYMEX light, sweet crude contract. The surplus to the five-year average shrank to 21.6 million barrels, and crude stocks now stand more than 13.7 million below year-ago levels.

Updated: October 18, 2007