Commodity Trading Tips: Crude oil futures closed with slim losses in the domestic market on Wednesday as investors weighed a massive build in US storage levels that threatened to exacerbate concerns over a global supply glut, while the stellar rally witnessed in the energy commodity in recent sessions paved the way for profit booking, at existing levels.
The EIA said that US crude oil stockpiles jumped by 10.4 million barrels to 518 million barrels last week, almost thrice the 3.6 million barrels build expected by analysts.
The industry-funded American Petroleum Institute (API) late Tuesday reported a 9.9 million barrels rise in US crude oil stockpiles last week.
Refinery demand was strong as fuel plants processed 16 million barrels of crude per day last week, the highest for this time of year since 1989.
A drop in US crude output by 25,000 barrels per day to 9.077 million barrels per day last week, supported prices.
Upbeat US private jobs data signaled strength in the world’s biggest economy, supporting crude’s demand outlook. Private payrolls in the US rose 214,000 in February, up from a revised 193,000 in January.
A gauge of business activity in New York fell to 53.6 in February from 54.6 in January, with a reading above 50 signaling expansion. The Fed’s Beige Book Survey showed that US economic activity continued to expand in most districts from January to late February.
Oil may rise today as falling US crude output eases worries of oversupplies.
At the MCX, Crude oil futures, for the March 2016 contract, closed at Rs 2,341 per barrel, down by 0.09 per cent, after opening at 2,321, against the previous close price of Rs 2,343. It touched an intraday low of Rs 2,280.