Crude oil futures traded higher on Wednesday morning as fears over supply disruption due to the war between Israel and Hamas continued to impact the market.
At 9.52 am on Wednesday, December Brent oil futures were at $87.93, up by 0.32 per cent, and November crude oil futures on WTI (West Texas Intermediate) were at $86.19, up by 0.26 per cent.
October crude oil futures were trading at ₹7,185 on Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) in the initial trading hour of Wednesday morning against the previous close of ₹7,161, up by 0.34 per cent, and November futures were trading at ₹7055 as against the previous close of ₹7,025, up by 0.43 per cent.
Risk on escalation
In its commodities feed on Wednesday, ING Think said it would expect the current risk premium to slowly erode, if the conflict is contained to Israel and Hamas.
“However, there is still a risk that this escalates, particularly if there is any Iranian involvement. Under this scenario, stronger enforcement of US sanctions on Iranian oil would tighten up the oil market through 2024,” it said, adding, oil prices held relatively steady on Tuesday as the market continued to digest developments in Israel.
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Though US is of the opinion that Iran is supporting Hamas on its war with Israel, it does not have any credible information on Iran’s involvement.
On MSNBC, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said Iran has long supported Hamas and other terrorist networks throughout the region with resources capabilities, and training. “And so in that regard, clearly, Iran is complicit here, but in terms of specific evidence on these sorts of attacks, no, we don’t have anything,” Kirby said.
Jeera, turmeric dip
West Asia is a major oil producing region in the world. Any geopolitical development in this region will have an impact on the world crude oil market.
October natural gas futures were trading at ₹285 on MCX in the initial trading hour of Wednesday morning against the previous close of ₹280.80, up by 1.50 per cent.
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On NCDEX, jeera (cumin) November contracts declined by 1.44 per cent to ₹55,670 a quintal. Turmeric Decembe futures slid by 1.35 per cent ₹14,280 a quintal.