Crude oil futures traded marginally lower on Tuesday morning as bearish sentiments prevailed over demand for the commodity among the participants of the Asia Pacific Petroleum Conference (APPEC) in Singapore.

At 9.54 am on Tuesday, November Brent oil futures were at $71.76, down by 0.11 per cent, and October crude oil futures on WTI (West Texas Intermediate) were at $68.61, down by 0.15 per cent.

September crude oil futures were trading at ₹5772 on Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) during the initial hour of trading on Tuesday against the previous close of ₹5776, down by 0.07 per cent, and October futures were trading at ₹5740 against the previous close of ₹5739, up by 0.02 per cent.

Commodity traders such as Gunvor and Trafigura, who participated in the APPEC on Monday, said

oil prices may range between $60 and $70 a barrel on wakened Chinese demand and persistent global oversupply.

Speaking at APPEC, Ben Luckock, global head of oil at Trafigura, said oil prices may fall into the $60s sometime relatively soon.

Torbjorn Tornqvist, co-founder and chairman of energy trader Gunvor, said oil’s fair value is $70 a barrel as there is more oil currently produced globally than consumed and the balance is set only to worsen over the next few years.

In their Commodities Feed, ING Think’s Warren Patterson, Head of Commodities Strategy, and Ewa Manthey, Commodities Strategist, said oil prices stabilised on Monday and Brent managed to settle 1.1 per cent higher on the day. This is despite a bearish tone coming from APPEC week in Singapore, which started on Monday.

Highlighting the likely impact of tropic storm Francine in the Gulf of Mexico on the oil market, they said it is likely to offer some support to the market. Tropical storm Francine is set to be upgraded to a hurricane when it reaches the Louisiana coast on Wednesday. The storm has led some operators to shut platforms. Chevron, Exxon and Shell have already evacuated workers from some platforms. The storm also puts US Gulf Coast refinery operations at risk once it makes landfall, they said.

September natural gas futures were trading at ₹180.20 on MCX during the initial hour of trading on Tuesday against the previous close of ₹182.40, up by 1.21 per cent.

On the National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), September jeera contracts were trading at ₹24905 in the initial hour of trading on Tuesday against the previous close of ₹25100, down by 0.78 per cent.

October turmeric (farmer polished) futures were trading at ₹14114 on NCDEX in the initial hour of trading on Tuesday against the previous close of ₹14194, down by 0.56 per cent.

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