Crude Oil
WTi oil prices declined by around 3 percent on Monday to close at $44.4 per barrel pressured by tumbling equities on Wall Street and weak Chinese economic data, although an estimated drawdown in crude stocks at the key U.S. storage hub appeared to limit losses.
Heavy oil oversupply and eroding demand for energy in No. 2 economy China and other Asian and emerging markets have halved crude prices over the last year.
In China, also the world's largest commodities consumer, industrial companies' profits fell at their fastest rate in four years, sparking fresh worries about manufacturing activity reports due later this week.
On the MCX, oil prices declined by 2.1 percent to close at Rs.2968 per barrel.
API inventory forecast
The API report due tonight is expected to showa crude stock drawdown of 500,000 barrels on average in the week ended Sept. 25. While gasoline stocks were seen unchanged at 218.8 million barrels, distillate inventories, which include heating oil and diesel fuel, were forecast to have dropped one million barrels last week.
Outlook
Bearish fundamentals continue to grip the commodity with slowdown in China and oversupplies from the OEPC as well as Non-OPEC nations. Although, hopes of crude inventory drawdown will act as a positive factor.
On the MCX, oil prices are expected to trade lower today.
Contributed by Angel Broking
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