Crude Eases Amid Continued Resistance, Dollar Index At Seven Month Highs

Oil...

MCX Crude oil futures slipped today, failing to hold onto their intraday highs as traders stayed off from the commodity after recent gains. The WTI Crude oil futures are trading in red, falling for a second straight day amid mixed movement in global equities and a rise in the US dollar. The commodity failed to hold onto intraday highs above $93 per barrel for a third consecutive session and currently trades at $92.34, down 18 cents per barrel on the day.

Dollar gained impressively and broke the 1.3000 levels against the Euro after the after US retail sales jumped at their fastest pace in five months in February. The broad based dollar index also hovered around its seven-month highs. This kept the commodities complex under stress.

As per the latest ECB monthly bulletin released today, recent data and indicators suggest that economic activity should start stabilizing in the first part of the year. A gradual recovery should commence in the second part, with export growth benefiting from a strengthening of global demand and domestic demand being supported by the accommodative monetary policy stance.

Furthermore, the improvements in financial markets since July last year and the continued implementation of structural reforms should work their way through to the economy. At the same time, necessary balance sheet adjustments in the public and private sectors, and the associated tight credit conditions, will continue to weigh on economic activity.

Earlier in the week, the International Energy Agency continued to inch lower on its forecasts for global oil demand while increasing its expectations of supply growth for this year. Since January, the Paris-based energy watchdog has cut 200,000 barrels a day from its forecast for oil demand in 2013 and added 200,000 barrels a day to its expectations of supply growth from countries outside the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC.

WTI oil has witnessed a typical pattern in the current week. Prices tend to rise in intraday moves before giving up and today was no different. The MCX Crude oil futures for March hit a high of Rs 5047 per barrel and slipped. The counter quotes at Rs 5022, down Rs 19 per barrel on the day or 0.38% with 5% increase in the open interest.
Source by Commodity Insights