Crude oil futures gained to Rs 1,107 per barrel on April 29 as participants increased their long positions. Oil prices jumped as the increase in US crude stockpiles was less than expected and due to easing of coronavirus restrictions in some countries.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude has been under pressure in the last two days on liquidation of current month positions by US State Oil Fund, one of the largest oil exchange traded funds (ETFs). The fund has rolled over contracts of several months due to highly volatile market conditions.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) reported that US crude inventories rose 10 million barrels for the week ended April 24.
WTI Crude oil is leading the gains in commodities market today with price up more than 14.50 percent. The gains in crude oil was mainly supported by the bullish API weekly report that noted a smaller than expected rise in US crude oil stocks and an unexpected decline in gasoline stocks, said Ravindra Rao, VP- Head Commodity Research at Kotak Securities.
EIA report will be released today which is expected to show a smaller build up in line with the API data. Today's gains may get trimmed only if the EIA shows a buildup more than API report or the forecast, said Rao.
In the futures market, crude oil for May delivery touched an intraday high of Rs 1,125 and an intraday low of Rs 1,030 per barrel on MCX. So far in the current series, black gold has touched a low of Rs 796 and a high of Rs 3,905.
Crude oil delivery for May gained Rs 102, or 10.15 percent, to Rs 1,107 per barrel at 15:20 hours IST. The same for June delivery jumped Rs 40, or 2.8 percent, to Rs 1,468 per barrel with a business volume of 1,578 lots.
The value of May and June contracts traded so far is Rs 1,246.13 crore and Rs 86.25 crore, respectively.
"We expect prices to trade positive on expectations of demand recovery with some countries easing lockdown measures. MCX Crude oil May futures has support at Rs 950 with resistance at Rs 1,300," said Tapan Patel- Senior Analyst (Commodities), HDFC Securities.
West Texas Intermediate crude gained 14.51 percent to $14.13 per barrel, while Brent crude, the London-based international benchmark, gained 2.81 percent to $23.38 per barrel.
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