| Indian crude oil basket rises to record $84.78/bl |
| BS Reporter / New Delhi October 29, 2007 |
| India's crude oil basket surged to a fresh record high of $84.78 per barrel on Friday, the latest day for which data is available. The basket, which comprises Oman-Dubai sour (high sulphur) grade crude oil and Brent dated sweet (low sulphur) crude oil in 59.8:40.2 ratio, rose $2.50 from its previous high of $82.28 per barrel on Thursday. Global crude oil prices have been rising sharply on continued supply fears arising from geopolitical tensions in West Asia. Turkey has stated it will continue with its military offensive against Kurd rebels in northern Iraq. Moreover, tension between US and Iran, which has the world's second biggest oil reserves, is also driving up crude prices. Late last week, Washington had announced new economic sanctions against Tehran as it has been defiantly continuing with its uranium enrichment programme. There is also apprehension that US gasoline stocks may not be as high as expected, which is further fuelling crude oil prices, a Mumbai-based analyst said. Crude oil for December delivery also rose to a record $93.18 per barrel in New York on October 29 as Mexico, the third largest supplier to the US, shut about a fifth of its daily crude oil production because of a storm heading for the Gulf of Mexico, news agency Bloomberg reported. In October so far, India |
