Crude oil futures up 1.33%, WTI trades above $40 a barrel

Crude oil futures climbed to Rs 3,065 per barrel on July 1 on a sharp drawdown in US crude inventories and better-than expected China manufacturing PMI for June, which came in at 51.2.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) reported that US crude inventories declined by 8.15 million barrels for the week-ended June 26.

Saudi Arabia might raise the official selling price (OSP) for August crude sold in Asia, increasing it for a third straight month due to rising Middle East benchmarks and a rebound in Asian refining margins, Reuters reported.

Tapan Patel, Senior Analyst (Commodities), HDFC Securities, said crude oil prices traded higher on expectations of bullish weekly inventory data while positive economic data from US and China raised demand prospects.

In the futures market, crude oil for July delivery touched an intraday high of Rs 3,072 and an intraday low of Rs 2,996 per barrel on Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX). So far in the current series, black gold has touched a low of Rs 1,655 and a high of Rs 3,153.

Crude oil futures for July delivery rose Rs 40, or 1.33 percent, to Rs 3,055 per barrel at 15:25 hours IST on a business turnover of 3,838 lots. The same for August delivery edged higher by Rs 40, or 1.32 percent, to Rs 3,079 per barrel on a business volume of 141 lots.

The value of July and August contracts traded so far is Rs 970.67 crore and Rs 3.91 crore, respectively.

Patel expects oil prices to trade sideways to up for the day with support at $38 and resistance at $42. "MCX July Crude Oil Futures has support at Rs 2,970 and resistance at Rs 3,150."

West Texas Intermediate crude gained 2.78 percent to $40.36 per barrel, while Brent crude, the London-based international benchmark, was up 2.69 percent to $42.38 per barrel.