Oil Inches Up Tracking Markets (09:51, 23 Aug 2013) Crude oil futures inched up in the electronic trades today, tracking gains in the Asian equities and the upbeat economic data. Asian stocks rallied Friday, cheering a rebound on Wall Street and upbeat German manufacturing data, with Japanese shares leading the charge on the back of a weakened yen. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 1%, South Korea’s Kospi added 1.3%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.6%, and China’s Shanghai Composite advanced 0.3%. U.S. crude oil for October delivery is trading up 8 cents at $105.11 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Yesterday, it added $1.18, or 1.1%, to settle at $105.03 a barrel. Prices had lost 1.2% on Wednesday to finish below $104. Thursday’s advance had followed encouraging manufacturing data from China, along with a 26-month-high for a key gauge of euro-zone business activity. In further positive news for crude, the American Petroleum Institute reported Thursday that U.S. oil demand increased by 1.7% in July from a year earlier, marking the highest July total since 2010. Later today, the Kansas City Federal Reserve hosts an annual meeting of central bankers at Jackson Hole, Wyo. While Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke won’t be attending, markets will watch the proceeding for any further clues to the policy outlook. MCX September crude oil futures may open today’s session near Rs 6750 levels with resistance near Rs 6770-90 levels and support near Rs 6700 levels. Powered by Commodity Insights
Posted on: Fri, 23 Aug 2013 04:39:00 +0000