Crude oil futures down 0.46%, WTI inching towards $41 a barrel

Crude oil futures eased to Rs 3,058 per barrel on July 9 as participants increased their short positions.

The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that US crude stockpiles increased by 5.65 million barrels for the week-ended July 3.

Tapan Patel, Senior Analyst (Commodities), HDFC Securities, said crude oil prices traded under pressure on demand growth concerns and supply pressures due to surge in weekly inventories. "The lack of clarity over extension of output cut deal from OPEC+ nations has also kept investors in dilemma over future trends."

“Crude may continue to witness choppy trade, reflecting the general indecisiveness in the financial market. However, the general bias may be on the downside owing to rising virus risks and sharp rise in US crude oil stocks,” Ravindra Rao, VP- Head Commodity Research at Kotak Securities, said.

In the futures market, crude oil for July delivery touched an intraday high of Rs 3,071 and an intraday low of Rs 3,051 per barrel on the 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 slipped Rs 14, or 0.46 percent, to Rs 3,059 per barrel at 15:38 hours IST on a business turnover of 5,037 lots.

The same for August delivery edged lower by Rs 7, or 0.23 percent, to Rs 3,085 per barrel on a business volume of 112 lots.

The value of July and August's contracts traded so far is Rs 708.88 crore and Rs 3.20 crore, respectively.

Patel expects oil prices to trade sideways to down for the day with support at $39 and resistance at $42. "MCX Crude oil July futures has support at Rs 2,970 with resistance at Rs 3,110."

West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 0.32 percent to $40.77 per barrel, while Brent crude, the London-based international benchmark, was up a marginal 0.06 percent to $43.35 per barrel.