Crude oil futures traded higher on Thursday as the market foresees strong demand outlook in the near term.

At 9.53 am on Thursday, April Brent oil futures were at $83.20, up by 0.20 per cent, and April crude oil futures on WTI (West Texas Intermediate) were at $78.08, up by 0.22 per cent.

March crude oil futures were trading at ₹6,477 on Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) during initial trading against the previous close of ₹6,447, up by 0.47 per cent, and April futures were trading at ₹6,468 as against the previous close of ₹6436, up by 0.50 per cent.

US inventories rise

Market reports noted that restarting of some US refineries that were affected by outages earlier is boosting the demand for the commodity.

According to reports, the 4,35,000 barrels per day refinery of BP in Indiana, which was affected by power outages in the beginning of February, is likely to restart its full production from March. The 2,38,000 barrels per day refinery of Total Energies in Texas, which has been conducting minimal operations due to outages, is also gearing up for a complete restart.

Crude oil inventories in the US had seen a huge build last week, and the issues related to outages were seen as one of the main reasons for build there.

The latest data from the industry body American Petroleum Institute (API) showed an increase in the crude oil inventories for the week ending February 16. According to API, crude oil inventories in the US went up by 7.16 million barrels for the week ending February 16. Market was expecting it to go up by 4.29 million barrels during the period.

Meanwhile, minutes of the January meeting of the US Federal Reserve showed that policymakers are worried about cutting the interest rates too soon. Minutes of the meeting, which was released on Wednesday, said that participants highlighted the uncertainty associated with how long a restrictive monetary policy stance would need to be maintained to return inflation to the target of 2 per cent. A high interest rate scenario would impact the demand for commodities such as crude oil in the market.

Kapas gleams, turmeric fades

February aluminium futures were trading at ₹197.95 on MCX in the initial trading hour of Thursday morning against the previous close of ₹199.30, down by 0.68 per cent.

On the National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), April kapas contracts were trading at ₹1,569 in the initial trading hour of Thursday morning against the previous close of ₹1,560, up by 0.54 per cent.

April turmeric (farmer polished) futures were trading at ₹15,360 on NCDEX in the initial trading hour of Thursday morning against the previous close of ₹15,434, down by 0.48 per cent.

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