OPEC was unsuccessful in reaching an agreement to increase global supply in its meeting yesterday and thus kept quotas unchanged. This factor supported an upside Nymex crude oil prices which closed higher by 1.7 percent on Wednesday.
Additionally, sharp fall in US crude oil inventories also helped oil prices trade higher. It touched an intra-day high of $101.89/bbl and closed its trading session at $100.74/bbl yesterday. On the MCX, crude oil rose 2.6 percent and touched an intra-day high of RS4554/bbl on Wednesday.
EIA Inventory Data
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) in its weekly inventory report showed a sharp decline in inventory levels of crude oil. As per reported figures, crude oil inventories dropped sharp by 4.8 million barrels to reach 369 million barrels. Gasoline stocks rose by 2.2 barrels to 214.5 million barrels, whereas distillates increased by 0.8 million barrels to reach 140.9 million barrels in the same week.
Outlook
We expect crude oil to trade higher today as the oil cartel did not reach an agreement to increase production quotas yesterday. This coupled with a decline in US crude oil inventories and a weaker dollar will support an upside in
