Crude oil down on resumption of Israel-Hamas peace talks

Crude oil futures traded lower on Monday morning as Israel and Hamas started peace talks in Egypt. This decision is likely to help in the of de-escalation of tensions in Middle East.

At 9.52 am on Monday, June Brent oil futures were at $89.77, down by 1.54 per cent, and May crude oil futures on WTI (West Texas Intermediate) were at $85.61, down by 1.50 per cent.

April crude oil futures were trading at ₹7129 on Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) during initial trading on Monday morning against the previous close of ₹7284, down by 2.13 per cent, and May futures were trading at ₹7091 against the previous close of ₹7238, down by 2.03 per cent.

Under pressure

Reports said that both Israel and Hamas resumed their peace talks in Egypt just days ahead of Eid holidays. Market reports said a de-escalation in tensions in the Middle East will help ease oil supply situation from the Middle East region.

Israel also recalled its forces from Southern Gaza. This follows pressure on Israel by various countries to withdraw its forces from the region.

• Also Read: Crude oil gets a boost from US manufacturing data for March

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia, a major crude oil producer in the global market, has increased its official selling prices for all grades of crude oil to Asia in May. Saudi’s Aramco set the official selling price at a $2 premium to the Oman/Dubai average, an increase of 30 cents from the April price.

A fire accident in Mexico’s national oil company Pemex claimed one life. A statement by Pemex said on Sunday that at least one contractor was killed after a fire struck an offshore platform operated by Pemex. Two other persons were in grave condition when the report last came in.

Reports noted that nine workers suffered injuries in the blaze on Saturday afternoon that struck Pemex’s platform in the southern Gulf of Mexico.

Turmeric gleams

April natural gas futures were trading at ₹147.20 on MCX against the previous close of ₹151.50, down by 2.84 per cent.

• Also Read: Crude oil rises as OPEC decides to maintain production output cuts

On the National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), April turmeric (farmer polished) contracts were trading at ₹17,040 against the previous close of ₹16,816, up by 1.33 per cent.

April castorseed futures were trading at ₹5,920 on NCDEX against the previous close of ₹6028, down by 1.79 per cent.

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