Crude oil futures traded lower on Friday morning following a strong US economic data and hawkish remarks from Fed Reserve officials over the interest rate to control inflation in that country.
At 10.02 am on Friday, April Brent oil futures were at $84.34, down by 0.94 per cent, while March crude oil futures on WTI were at $77.72, down by 0.98 per cent.
February crude oil futures were trading at ₹6433 on Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) in the initial trading hour of Friday morning against the previous close of ₹6500, down by 1.03 per cent, while March futures were trading at ₹6477 as against the previous close of ₹6539, down by 0.95 per cent.
Producer price index in the US went up by 0.7 per cent in January after witnessing a decline of 0.2 per cent in December. Market, which did not anticipate this rise, is now apprehensive about the inflation in the US economy.
The latest US economic data and the recent comments by some Federal Reserve officials indicate that there could be more interest rate hikes in the coming months. Market reports noted that aggressive interest rate hikes by the Fed may impact the economic growth in the US, which, in turn, may impact the demand for crude oil.
The recent increase in the crude oil inventories in the US impacted crude oil prices. The latest weekly petroleum status report by the US EIA (Energy Information Administration) showed that the commercial crude oil inventories (excluding those in the strategic petroleum reserve) witnessed an increase of 16.3 million barrels for the week ending February 10. At 471.4 million barrels, crude oil inventories in the US were about 8 per cent above the five-year average for this time of year.
March natural gas futures were trading at ₹212.10 on MCX in the initial trading hour of Friday morning against the previous close of ₹213.60, down by 0.70 per cent.
On the National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), February cottonseed oilcake contracts were trading at ₹2840 in the initial trading hour of Friday morning against the previous close of ₹2825, up by 0.53 per cent.
March guargum futures were trading at ₹12375 on NCDEX in the initial trading hour of Friday morning against the previous close of ₹12536, down by 1.28 per cent.