Crude oil futures were trading lower on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) on Wednesday afternoon.
The January crude oil futures were trading at ₹5,727 on Wednesday afternoon against the previous close of ₹5,761, down by 0.59 per cent.
The March Brent oil futures were at $79.95, down by 0.06 per cent; and the February crude oil futures on WTI at $76.91, down by 0.10 per cent.
The meeting of OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) and its allies on January 4 decided to adjust upward the monthly overall production by 400,000 barrels a day for February. Market participants had already expected this.
US Inventories
Some market reports noted that the increasing fuel stockpiles of the US could be the reason for the fall in the prices, as the US is a major consumer of crude oil in the world. The increasing stockpiles exceeded the expectations of the analysts.
On MCX, the January futures of crude palm oil (CPO) were trading at ₹1,087 on Wednesday afternoon against the previous close of ₹1,085, up by 0.18 per cent. According to market reports, output growth in the major palm oil producing countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia is likely to come down. The labour shortage and the expected reduction in yields due to the decrease in the use of fertilizers are cited as the reason for this.
NCDEX
On the National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), the February mustardseed futures were trading at ₹6,640 on Wednesday afternoon as against the previous close of ₹6,945, down by 2.99 per cent.
The April turmeric (farmer polished) contracts were trading at ₹10,530 on NCDEX on Wednesday afternoon against the previous close of ₹10,342, up by 1.82 per cent.