Crude Oil Prices Rise ₹49 to ₹5,593 Per Barrel on Middle East Tension Fears

Crude oil prices rose ₹49 to ₹5,593 per barrel on Wednesday amid concerns that the conflict in the Middle East region could escalate following an Israeli strike in Qatar targeting Hamas leaders.

The most traded crude oil futures for September delivery on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) gained ₹49 or 0.88% to ₹5,593 a barrel in 10,812 lots.

In the international markets, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil was trading 1.18% higher to USD 63.37 per barrel while Brent Crude went up 1.17% to USD 67.17 a barrel.

On Tuesday, Israel launched a strike on Doha, Qatar, targeting the senior leadership of Hamas. Later, Qatar said that the attack by Israel violated international law and threatens to widen the conflict in the Middle East, the source of about one-third of global oil supplies. This, in turn, boosts the WTI crude oil price.

Mohammad Imran, Research Analyst at Mirae Asset ShareKhan said "Market participants will be looking for US Energy Information Administration (EIA) weekly crude oil stock report, which is going to release later in the day and the crucial US Consumer Price Index data on Thursday." The EIA Crude Oil inventories measures the weekly change in the number of barrels of commercial crude oil held by US firms. The level of inventories influences the price of petroleum products, which can have an impact on inflation.