Crude oil futures, which opened higher on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) on Monday morning, continued to remain on the higher side in the afternoon trading also. The reasons for this are bargain hunting, and the divided views over the impact of Omicron variant of the Covid-19 virus.
While many European countries reported the cases of Omicron variant, some reports from South African doctors termed Omicron variant as a mild one. Some scientists also felt that this variant could spread faster.
On MCX, the December futures of crude oil traded at ₹5,376 against the previous close of ₹5,186, up by 3.66 per cent, in the afternoon hour of trading on Monday.
Crude oil also gained as OPEC+ decided to shift its meeting from Tuesday to Thursday to analyse the situations following the reported cases of omicron variant of Covid virus in some countries and its impact on the demand and supply situation of crude oil.
The rise in crude oil futures is also seen as bargain hunting by some market players, as prices dropped 13 per cent last week. On Monday afternoon, The February Brent oil futures were trading at $75.12 a barrel, up by 4.93 per cent, and the January futures of WTI crude oil were trading at $71.73, up by 5.25 per cent.
On MCX, December natural gas futures were down by 5.68 per cent in the afternoon trading. The natural gas December contracts were trading at ₹382.20 against the previous close of ₹405.20. The January contracts of US natural gas were trading at $5.082, down by 7.21 per cent.
NCDEX
On the National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), the December soyabean futures, which were down by 2.73 per cent in the morning trading, were down by 5.83 per cent on Monday afternoon. The December soyabean contracts were trading at ₹6,317 against the previous close of ₹6,708. According to some market players, the farmers are expecting higher prices for their stock.
On NCDEX, the December steel long futures were up by 0.79 per cent in the Monday afternoon trading. The December steel long futures were trading at ₹43,550 against the previous close of ₹43,210.