Pentagon announces withdrawal in Afghanistan from about 4,500 troops

The Trump administration has ordered troops to drawdown in Iraq and Afghanistan which would see forces fall to 2,500 in each nation by Jan. 15th.

The US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has, however, warned against any major changes in defense or foreign policy in next couple of months including major troop drawdowns in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, Crude oil prices fell as OPEC failed to signal any strong intentions to extend current production cuts.

''The OPEC+ alliance said that the group must be ready to act when it gathers for its next full meeting in two weeks. The panel of ministers were said to be discussing postponing the planned increase in quotas by three to six months. However, Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Prices Abdulaziz bin Salman said that the market it too fluid to make a decision on cuts now,'' analysts at ANZ Bank explained.

''The market is also showing signs of strength, with Asian refiners snapping up barrels from the Middle East, US and Russia. Investors appear to be positioning for another build in inventories in the US. A Bloomberg survey shows that the market expects EIA to announce that crude oil stockpiles to rise 1,240kbbl last week.''