By Mr. Naveen Mathur, Reena Walia Nair (Angel Broking)

MARKET RECAP

Crude oil prices touched a low of $75.9/bbl on the Nymex yesterday after the US Energy department reported a surge in inventories in the US, a top consumer of crude oil. However, crude oil prices managed to conquer some part of the lost territory mainly on the back of the softer US dollar index (DX). The DX closed at 82.13 on Wednesday, unchanged to its earlier close, after touching an intra-day high of 82.29 against a basket of currencies.

OUTLOOK

Crude oil prices will trade with a negative bias today taking cues from the movement in the DX. The DX is expected to remain strong today, and this factor will exert pressure on the crude oil prices, making the dollar-denominated commodity less attractive for holders of other currencies. Moreover, concern over rising inventories will also weigh on the crude oil prices.

Natural gas prices will take cues from the inventory data to be released later in the evening today.