Crude oil futures traded higher on Tuesday morning as the market awaited Israel’s response to the recent attacks by Iran.

At 9.48 am on Tuesday, June Brent oil futures were at $90.59, up by 0.54 per cent, and May crude oil futures on WTI (West Texas Intermediate) were at $85.91, up by 0.59 per cent.

April crude oil futures were trading at ₹7,172 on Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) during initial trading against the previous close of ₹7,115, up by 0.80 per cent, and May futures were trading at ₹7,140 against the previous close of ₹7,085, up by 0.78 per cent.

Minimal damage

Israel’s military chief said that his country would respond to missile and drone attacks by Iran. Week-end attacks on Israel by Iran had caused minimal damage. Following this, crude oil market on Monday traded lower as market allayed fears of wider conflicts in West Asia.

Quoting a government source, a Reuters report said Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu summoned his war cabinet on Monday for the second time in less than 24 hours to weigh how to react to Iran’s direct attack on Israel.

This news of retaliatory steps created apprehensions in the market over the escalation of tensions in West Asia and its impact on crude oil supplies to the world market.

Zinc slips

Meanwhile, Chinese economy witnessed growth in the first quarter of 2024. According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the GDP growth in the first quarter of 2024 was at 5.3 per cent against 5.2 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2023. The market was expecting the growth to be at 5 per cent in the first quarter of 2024.

China’s GDP growth in the first quarter has created hopes of good demand for crude oil from this market. China is a major consumer of crude oil in the global market.

April zinc futures were trading at ₹242.40 on MCX during the initial hour of trading on Tuesday morning against the previous close of ₹244.75, down by 0.96 per cent.

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