Crude oil up 0.4% on overseas trend

Taking positive cues from the overseas markets, crude oil futures rose 0.43% to Rs 6,066 per barrel today as speculators enlarged positions.

At the Multi Commodity Exchange, crude oil prices for delivery in April traded higher by Rs 26, or 0.43%, at Rs 6,066 per barrel, with a business turnover of 1,245 lots.

In a similar fashion, crude oil prices for May rose by a similar margin to Rs 6,060 per barrel, with a business volume of 97 lots.

Market analysts said the rise in crude oil futures led to a mixed sentiment in Asian trade, taking a breather after surging on strong US economic data.
 
They said the weekly US crude stockpiles report also showed a decline of 1.3 million barrels at the Cushing, Oklahoma oil-trading hub for the US benchmark, also supported the upside.

Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate crude prices for May delivery gained 10 cents to $100.34 a barrel in late morning trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange.