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Petrol and diesel rates on 9 December 2024 in Mumbai, Noida, Lucknow and others. The Brent crude futures increased by 22 cents, or 0.3 percent, and moved to $71.34 per barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures showed an up move by 22 cents or 0.3 percent and touched $67.42 per barrel.
Crude oil prices slightly increased on December 9 due to rising tensions in the Middle East following rebels' overthrow of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Brent crude futures increased by 22 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $71.34 per barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures showed an up move by 22 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $67.42 per barrel.
The Syrian crisis outweighs the low crude oil demand from China. The weak demand from China can be seen after Saudi Aramco reduced the price for Asian buyers.
Brent crude futures were down by more than 2.5 percent last week, and WTI moved down 1.2 percent, as analysts projected a supply surplus next year due to weak demand. The crude oil benchmarks were down despite the OPEC+ decision to delay production hikes and extend cuts to the end of 2026.
On Thursday, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, collectively known as OPEC+, announced they would delay the planned increase in oil production by three months, pushing the start date to April. Additionally, they extended the full unwinding of production cuts by a year, now scheduled to conclude at the end of 2026.
Rahul Kalantri, VP of Commodities, Mehta Equities said, “We expect crude oil prices to remain volatile in today’s session. Crude oil has support at $6.50-65.80, with resistance at $67.75-68.40. In INR terms, support is seen at Rs 5,730-5,650, while resistance is at Rs 5,790-5,860.”
He added, “The drop in prices was driven by an increase in global supply coupled with subdued demand. U.S. gasoline and distillate inventories also surged last week, exerting further downward pressure on oil prices. However, better-than-expected economic data from China may lend some support to prices at lower levels.”
Source: Online/GFMM
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