Crude Oil
WTI oil prices rose by 1.1 percent on Thursday to close at $46.8 per barrel tracking gains in Wall Street equities for a second straight day despite a weekly build in U.S. crude inventories that weighed on the outlook for oil.
Adding to early support for oil was the European Central Bank's pledge to keep monetary policy after weak inflation and growth forecasts. In China, markets closed for public holidays for the rest of the week, lending calm to oil and other assets battered by last month's tumble in Chinese equities.
On the MCX, oil prices rose by 1.7 percent to close at Rs.3086 per barrel.
Natural gas
NYMEX natural gas prices rose by 2.37 percent on Thursday to close at $2.76 per MMBtu while MCX gas prices rose by 2.09 percent to close at Rs.180.90 per MMbtu. Worries of a spike in the fuel's inventories were offset by warm forecasts this week suggesting higher demand for air conditioning from gas-powered electricity.
Outlook
On an intraday basis, we expect oil prices to trade lower as inventory buildup in the US continues to create bearish sentiment while ECB boost to print more money will act as a positive factor for commodities including crude oil.
On the MCX, oil prices are expected to trade lower today.
Contributed by Angel Broking
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