Crude oil futures fall by Rs 48 on weak Asian cues

Crude oil futures fell by Rs 48 to Rs 2,766 per barrel today as speculators trimmed their positions amid a weakening trend in Asian trade.
Moreover, profit-booking at existing level too weighed on crude prices.
At the Multi Commodity Exchange, crude oil for delivery in May was trading lower by Rs 48, or 1.71 per cent, to Rs 2,766 per barrel in 5,753 lots.
The oil for delivery in far-month June also fell by Rs 47, or 1.63 per cent, to trade at Rs 2,842 per barrel in 150 lots.
Analysts said a weak trend in Asian trade where oil prices resumed their fall today after petroleum workers called off a strike in key OPEC producer Kuwait, quashing hopes the disruption could help ease a persistent supply glut, dampened sentiments here.

Curtailed production resulting from the three-day strike in OPEC's fourth biggest member led prices to rise on Tuesday, ending a four-day losing streak.

But prices resumed their decline after the Kuwait Oil Workers Union today ended their mass action and decided to return to work, hours after a fresh appeal by the acting oil minister.
The strike, which began on Sunday, slashed Kuwait's crude and natural gas production by more than half.
Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for May delivery was down 97 cents, or 2.36 per cent, to USD 40.11 a barrel, while Brent crude for June delivery, the European benchmark, was trading 88 cents, or 2.00 per cent, to USD 43.15 a barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange today.

Prices had been on a tumble for three straight days before the world's major crude producers met in Doha on Sunday to discuss calls to freeze output and plunged further on Monday after they failed to reach agreement.