Crude oil traded marginally higher on Wednesday morning following weak economic data from the US and China and an unexpected increase in crude oil inventories in the US.

At 9.54 am on Wednesday, July Brent oil futures were at $75.02, up by 0.15 per cent, and June crude oil futures on WTI were at $70.92, up by 0.08 per cent.

May crude oil futures were trading at ₹5,844 on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) during initial trading against the previous close of ₹5,834, up by 0.17 per cent, and June futures were trading at ₹5,868 as against the previous close of ₹5859, up by 0.15 per cent.

Debt ceiling uncertainty

Both retail sales and industrial production data from the US did not enthuse the market. US retail production increased by 1.6 per cent in April against 2.42 per cent in the previous month. Industrial production data from the US showed a growth of 0.24 per cent in April 2023 against 6.40 per cent in April 2022. Added to this, the uncertainty over increasing the debt ceiling in the US also impacted the price of crude oil in the US.

Citing the data from the American Petroleum Institute (API), market reports said the increase in the crude oil inventories of around 3.7 million barrels for the week ending May 12. However, the market was expecting a decline in the crude oil inventories during the period.

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Retail sales in China went up by 18.4 per cent in April against 10.6 per cent in March. China’s April industrial production was recorded at 5.6 per cent against 3.9 per cent in March. However, the market was expecting better performance from China in retail sales and industrial production.

Meanwhile, the May report of the International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasted tighter crude oil market conditions for H2 2023 and an increase in the demand for the commodity.

Jeera tops ₹45,000 again, turmeric gleams

May natural gas futures were trading at ₹194.30 on MCX in the initial trading hour of Wednesday morning against the previous close of ₹196.90, down by 1.32 per cent.

On the National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), May jeera contracts were trading at ₹45,500 against the previous close of ₹44,375, up by 2.54 per cent.

June turmeric (farmer polished) futures were trading at ₹8,668 on NCDEX against the previous close of ₹8,532, up by 1.59 per cent.

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