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Ahead of the meeting of OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) and its allies later in the day, crude oil futures gained on commodity exchanges on Wednesday morning. Steel prices were up as the NMDC’s decision to hike iron ore charges reflected a rebound in the ferrous metal’s demand.
February crude oil futures were trading at ₹6,610 on MCX in the initial hour of Wednesday morning as against the previous close of ₹6,569, up by 0.62 per cent. April Brent oil futures were at $89.43, up by 0.30 per cent; and March crude oil futures on WTI at $88.44, up by 0.27 per cent.
OPEC+
Reports said OPEC and its allies such as Russia, collectively known as OPEC+, which is set to meet later in the day, is likely to maintain the moderate output increases. Though the January 4 meeting of the OPEC+ had decided to increase the supply to 4,00,000 barrels a day for February, some member countries are still facing issues to hike the production. In the post-pandemic world, OPEC+ hopes that the demand for crude oil will increase in the coming days.
The geo-political issues such as the tension between Russia and Ukraine is also playing a role in the gradual increase in the price of crude oil over the past few days. Russia is one of the major producers of crude oil and part of OPEC+ group. The Western world is worried over the tension between Russia and Ukraine as it feels that it could affect the crude oil supply to Europe.
On Tuesday, the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, accused the West of creating a scenario designed to create a war while ignoring security concerns of Russia over Ukraine. Reports also noted that the decline in crude stock in the US was more than the market expectations, aiding in the increase in the price of the commodity.
On MCX, February natural gas futures were trading at ₹367 in the initial hour of Wednesday morning as against the previous close of ₹353.50, up by 3.82 per cent. February nickel futures were trading at ₹1,724.30 in the initial hour of Wednesday morning against the previous close of ₹1,726.60, down by 0.13 per cent.
NMDC hike Feb prices
On the National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), February steel long futures were trading at ₹48,000 in the initial hour of Wednesday morning against the previous close of ₹47,500, up by 1.05 per cent.
NMDC on Tuesday raised prices for February by ₹300 a tonne to ₹5,200 tonne for ore with 65.5 per cent iron content. It also hike the rates for 10 mm fines with 64 per cent iron content by ₹200 to ₹4,260.
February guar seed futures were trading at ₹6312 on NCDEX in the initial hour of Wednesday morning as against the previous close of ₹6338, down by 0.41 per cent.
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