Crude oil futures edged lower to settle at Rs 3,130 per barrel on August 14 as participants trimmed their position as seen by the open interest. Crude oil prices ended the week with a gain of Rs 35, or 1.13 percent.
Concerns about demand improving at a slower pace than anticipated due to the Covid-19 pandemic, rising supply and downbeat demand outlook by the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) for 2020 weighed on the sentiment.
The number of rigs drilling crude oil in the US fell by 4 to 172 rigs this week from 176 rigs last week, said Baker Hughes in a weekly report.
In the futures market, crude oil for August delivery touched an intraday high of Rs 3,174 and an intraday low of Rs 3,116 per barrel on MCX. So far in the current series, black gold has touched a low of Rs 2,520 and a high of Rs 3,263.
Crude oil delivery for August slipped by Rs 29, or 0.92 percent, to settle at Rs 3,130 per barrel with a business turnover of 1,011 lots. While, crude delivery for September eased by Rs 28, or 0.88 percent, to close at Rs 3,168 per barrel with a business volume of 180 lots.
The value of August and September's contracts traded during the day was Rs 1,848.84 crore and Rs 9.91 crore, respectively.
West Texas Intermediate crude slipped marginally 0.02 percent to $42.23 per barrel, while Brent crude, the London-based international benchmark, was down 0.02 percent to $44.95 per barrel.
Market participants will keep an eye on American Petroleum Institute weekly report on August 18, US Energy Information Administray inventory report on August 19 and OPEC+ meet on oil production cut on August 19 for further cues.
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