Thursday morning saw varied movements in global oil futures and commodity prices on Indian exchanges. Brent oil futures for September were observed at $86.86 at 9:55 am, marking a decline of 0.55%, while WTI crude oil futures for August stood at $83.33, down by 0.66%.
In India, crude oil prices on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) showed initial trading figures with July contracts at ₹6960, a slight increase of 0.13% from the previous close of ₹6951. Meanwhile, August futures traded at ₹6912, up by 0.14% from ₹6902 at the close.
Economic indicators from the US painted a mixed picture. The ISM Services PMI dropped to 48.8 in June, down from 53.8 in May, falling below expectations of 52.5.
Additionally, US Labor Department data reflected a rise in initial claims for unemployment benefits, increasing by 4,000 to 238,000 for the week ending June 29. The number of individuals on jobless rolls reached a two-and-a-half year high by the end of June.
Meanwhile, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a significant decrease in crude oil inventories for the week ending June 28. Commercial crude oil stocks fell by 12.2 million barrels, with total inventories at 448.5 million barrels, approximately 4% below the five-year average for this period. Motor gasoline inventories also declined by 2.2 million barrels, standing 1% below the five-year average.
Over the last four weeks, US motor gasoline product supplied averaged 9.2 million barrels per day, down by 1.7% from the same period last year. Crude oil imports averaged 6.5 million barrels per day last week, a slight decrease from the previous week but 9% higher than the same period last year.
Turning to Indian commodity markets, July mentha oil futures traded at ₹957 on MCX, down by 0.39% from the previous close of ₹960.70. On the National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), August turmeric (farmer polished) contracts were observed at ₹16,100, a decrease of 0.42% from ₹16,168. Similarly, July jeera futures on NCDEX traded at ₹28,755, down by 0.60% from ₹28,930.
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