U.S. equity futures rose; S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures up 0.2% each, Dow futures up 0.4%.

Aug 19 — The U.S. and South Korea announced they will end this year’s planned annual joint military exercises early. Days earlier President Trump had proposed scaling back the drills, citing his rapport with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. At a regular briefing on Aug 19, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said Beijing had already addressed related questions and reiterated that maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and promoting a political solution are in all parties’ common interest.

API: U.S. heating oil stocks -360k bbl in week to Aug 14, prior +424k bbl.