Crude Oil
WTI oil prices rose by around 10.3 percent on Thursday to close at $42.6 per barrel posting its biggest one-day rally in over six years as recovering equity markets and news of diminished crude supplies set off a short-covering scramble by bearish traders.
The rally was aided by news of a force majeure on Nigerian oil exports declared by Shell and private data indicating more drawdowns in crude this week at Cushing, Oklahoma, traders said. A big upward revision in second quarter U.S. economic growth helped.
On the MCX, oil prices rose by 6.9 percent to close at Rs.2789 per barrel.
Natural gas
NYMEX natural gas prices declined marginally by 0.26 percent on Thursday to close at $2.67 per MMbtu while MCX gas prices rose by 0.11 percent to close at Rs.178.20 per MMBtu. Forecasts of warmer temperatures were offset by a government report that showed larger-than-expected builds in weekly storage.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported 69 billion cubic feet of natural gas into storage for the week ended Aug. 14, more than the 59 bcf the previous week.
Outlook
We expect the positive momentum to continue today as force majeure on Nigerian oil exports and drawdown at Cushing coupled with good GDP data from the US will create positive sentiments.
On the MCX, oil prices are expected to trade higher today.
Contributed by Angel Broking
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