Crude oil futures traded lower Tuesday morning as the market awaits monetary policy decisions by the Central banks of major economies during the week and the scheduled meeting of OPEC+ (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) slated on February 1.

At 10 am, April Brent oil futures were at $84.20, down by 0.36 per cent; and March crude oil futures on WTI were at $77.58, down by 0.41 per cent.

February crude oil futures were trading at ₹6,358 on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) in the early deals against the previous close of ₹6,418, down by 0.93 per cent; and March futures trading at ₹6,412 as against the previous close of ₹6,469, down by 0.88 per cent.

Market is of the opinion that the aggressive increase in interest rates by major economies may lead to slowdown and could impact the near-term commodities demand. The US Federal Reserve is expected to increase the interest rate by 25 basis points in its meeting on February 1. Market reports noted that European Central Bank and the Bank of England are also likely to increase rates by 50 basis points during the week.

Market is not expecting much from the OPEC+ virtual meeting scheduled for February 1. Market reports noted that OPEC+ is likely to maintain the current production output level of crude oil.

However, the latest data on Chinese manufacturing and services sectors enthused the markets also.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) of China, the purchasing managers’ index (PMI) increased to 50.1 in January from 47.0 in December. Non-manufacturing activity, including provision of services and the construction industry, increased to 54.4 in January from 41.6 in December.

February natural gas futures were trading at ₹224.30 on MCX in the initial trading hours against the previous close of ₹226.60, down by 1.02 per cent.

On the National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), February guargum contracts were trading at ₹12,420 on Tuesday morning against the previous close of ₹12,165, up by 2.10 per cent.

February steel long futures were trading at ₹49,190 on NCDEX in the early deals against the previous close of ₹49,810, down by 1.24 per cent.

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