Crude oil futures traded higher on Wednesday morning as the latest monthly report by OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) indicated an increase in demand during 2024.

At 9.51 a.m. on Wednesday, November Brent oil futures were at USD 92.27, up by 0.23 per cent, and October crude oil futures on WTI (West Texas Intermediate) were at USD 89.08, up by 0.27 per cent.

September crude oil futures were trading at Rs. 7,386 on Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) during initial trading against the previous close of Rs. 7,385, up by 0.01 per cent, and October futures were trading at Rs. 7,330 against the previous close of Rs. 7,325, up by 0.07 per cent.

Also Read | Crude oil up as market looks for insights into OPEC supply data

Total demand seen at 104.3 million barrels

OPEC’s monthly oil market report said that world oil demand is expected to grow by a healthy 2.2 million barrels a day, unchanged from the previous month’s assessment, during 2024.

In 2024, solid global economic growth, amid continued improvements in China, is expected to further boost oil consumption. The total world oil demand projected to average 104.3 million barrels a day, it said.

It said world oil demand growth forecast in 2023 remains unchanged at 2.4 million barrels a day.

Libyan storm impact

Market reports said the deadly storm in Libya has impacted the country very badly. Libya has shut down four oil export terminals due to the storm’s impact. This may impact the supply as Libya is also a member of OPEC.

Meanwhile, data from American Petroleum Institute (API) showed an increase in the crude oil inventories for the week ending September 8. According to API data, crude oil inventories in the US increased by 1.17 million barrels for the week ending September 8 against a decrease of 5.52 million barrels in the previous week. The market was expecting a decline of around 2 million barrels during the week.

Official data on crude oil inventories from US EIA (Energy Information Administration) is expected later in the day.

Guar gum drops, turmeric gleams

September natural gas futures were trading at Rs. 228.40 on MCX in the initial trading hour of Wednesday morning against the previous close of Rs. 229.90, down by 0.65 per cent.

On NCDEX, guar gum November contracts declined by 1.06 per cent to Rs. 12,821 a quintal. Turmeric October futures gaiend 0.7 per cent at Rs. 13,782 a quintal.