Crude oil futures traded lower on Wednesday morning as industry data showed a large increase in crude oil inventories in the US.
At 9.53 am on Wednesday, April Brent oil futures were at $82.66, down by 0.13 per cent, and March crude oil futures on WTI (West Texas Intermediate) were at $77.86, down by 0.01 per cent.
February crude oil futures were trading at ₹6,472 on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) during initial trading against the previous close of ₹6,490, down by 0.28 per cent, and March futures were trading at ₹6,461, as against the previous close of ₹6486, down by 0.39 per cent.
8.52 million barrels up
According to the American Petroleum Institute (API), crude oil inventories in the US increased by 8.52 million barrels for the week ending February 9. The market was expecting crude oil inventories to go up by 2.60 million barrels during the period.
ING Think’s Commodities Feed said the increase in crude oil inventories was offset by large product declines, with gasoline and distillate stocks falling by 7.2 million barrels and 4 million barrels, respectively. The continued outage at BP’s 435,000 barrels a day Whiting refinery will have contributed to the crude builds and product draws, it said.
Meanwhile, US consumer price index (CPI) inflation remained above market expectations in January. Though US CPI inflation declined to 3.1 per cent in January from 3.4 per cent in December, it remained above the market forecast of 2.9 per cent.
Market reports noted that the US Fed Reserve could keep interest rates higher for a longer period of time taking this data into consideration. Such a development could impact economic activities, which, in turn, may impact demand for commodities such as crude oil.
The latest monthly report of the OPEC (Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) left the demand forecasts unchanged, and it expects oil demand to grow by 2.25 million barrels a day in 2024.
Kapas up, cottonseed oilcake down
February natural gas futures were trading at ₹141.10 on MCX, against the previous close of ₹139.70, up by 1 per cent.
On the National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), April kapas contracts were trading at ₹1,490 against the previous close of ₹1,486, up by 0.24 per cent.
February cottonseed oilcake futures were trading at ₹2,429 on NCDEX, against the previous close of ₹2,438, down by 0.37 per cent.
