Crude oil rose 0.73 per cent to Rs 2,760 per barrel at the futures market today as speculators created fresh bets, taking positive cues from Asian markets.
At the Multi Commodity Exchange, crude oil for delivery in August was trading higher by Rs 20 or 0.73 per cent at Rs 2,760 per barrel in a business turnover of 9,807 lots.
Likewise, the oil for delivery in far-month September was up by Rs 17 or 0.61 per cent at Rs 2,825 per barrel in 443 lots.
Analysts said building up of fresh positions by speculators, after oil prices extended their rebound in Asia today following a mixed set of US stockpile data, mainly influenced crude prices at the futures trade here.
The Department of Energy’s weekly report released on Wednesday showed that commercial crude oil supplies were up 0.3 per cent last week, but gasoline inventories and domestic crude production were both down.
Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate was up 27 cents at $41.10, while Brent crude gained 21 cents to $43.31 per barrel.