•  Saudi Arabia drew down its crude stocks by 11.4mn barrels (368,000 b/d) in January, allowing the kingdom to boost both exports and refinery throughputs to near-record levels despite holding crude production steady.

•  Crude output was 10.23mn b/d in January dipping slightly to 10.22mn b/d in February, according to the latest numbers reported to Opec. MEES estimates February’s output slightly lower at 10.21mn b/d (MEES, 11 March): either way it marks the 12th...