Oil prices eased on Monday as the peace talks between US and Iran in Switzerland made good progress despite President Trump issuing threats to Iran on his social media handle.
September Brent oil futures were at $78.86, down by 1.49 per cent, and August crude oil futures on WTI (West Texas Intermediate) were at $75.55, down by 0.40 per cent. Both the contracts have recorded a drop by nearly 10 per cent since discussions on interim peace deal commenced.
July crude oil futures were trading at Rs 7167 on Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) during the initial hour of trading on Monday against the previous close of Rs 7262, down by 1.31 per cent, and August futures were trading at Rs 7120 against the previous close of Rs 7199, down by 1.10 per cent
Meanwhile, shares of state-run oil companies Indian Oil, HPCL and BPCL traded higher in early deals on Monday after crude oil prices extended drop boosting the recovery in the optimistic fuel market.
Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) rose more than 1 percent in morning trade, while Indian Oil Corp (IOC) and Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL) gained around 0.5 percent each. The broader Nifty Oil & Gas index was up 0.43 percent, outperforming the benchmark Nifty 50’s 0.37 percent rise.
Earlier on Sunday night, a major blast rocked the Ras Laffan LNG facility in Qatar injuring 54 and 18 missing. The Barzan local gas facility which was shut down during the conflict was now resuming preparing to resume operations as the blast occurred.
For energy markets, it remains to see whether oil and LNG flows from the Persian Gulf continue to recover, despite all the rhetoric.