Crude Oil
Crude oil prices rose on Thursday with Brent and WTI gaining by 6.1 and 0.6 percent respectively on news that a tribal group made up of former Al Qaeda militants took control of a major southern oil terminal in Yemen.
The terminal is one of the major hubs for the Hadramout region exporting an average of 120,000 to 140,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude from fields in the area.
Oil prices pulled back earlier on Thursday when OPEC said in its monthly report that its own output surged by 810,000 barrels per day (bpd) in March, even as low prices start to weigh on U.S. production.
On the MCX, oil prices rose by 1.8 percent to close at Rs.3559/bbl.
Outlook
On an intraday basis, we expect oil prices to trade lower although escalation of conflict in Yemen will result in disturbance of oil supplies. Besides, declining oil rigs in the US will result in low production in coming months acting as a positive factor for prices.
On the other hand, rising crude inventories in the US, strengthening dollar and profit booking at higher levels will act as a negative factor.
On the MCX, oil prices are expected to trade lower taking cues from weak international markets
Contributed by Angel Broking