United States

With a Russian ship sailing in very close proximity to the primary east coast submarine base, and tensions between the US - and perhaps the Trump administration - and Russia, once again rising it seems like an odd moment to organize a meeting between the top US military general and his Russian counterpart on Thursday in Azerbaijan, the first such meeting between the two since military cooperation between the two nations was suspended in 2014 following the hostilities in Ukraine.

As previewed yesterday, of the three men mentioned as Michael Flynn's national security advisor replacements, one stood out: the former deputy commander of the US Central Command and current CEO for Lockheed Martin in the UAE, Robard Harward. Moments ago, Reuters confirmed that as expected, Trump has offered the National Security Advisor job to Robert Harward.

Beijing has warned Washington against any actions which would challenge China’s “sovereignty and security” The warning was in response to reports that the US was planning fresh naval patrols in the disputed South China Sea. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said that tensions in the waters have stabilized due to the hard work of Beijing and Southeast Asia countries.

Just as oil was set to test session lows after another massive oil build, sending US crude inventories to all time highs, many were wondering if the same exact algos that struck for the past weeks, would reappear sending oil surging on negative data would hit again. The answer: a resounding yes.

While it is difficult to explain why oil prices are rising, the rally it's coming on very strong volume as someone clearly thinks it's time to buy crude, again, and doing so with gusto.

Submitted by Nick Cunningham via OilPrice.com,

Oil prices have traded reliably in the $50s per barrel since OPEC agreed to cut production last November, but having failed to break through a ceiling in the upper-$50s, crude prices are in danger of falling back again.