Crude oil futures prices shot up by 1.60 per cent to Rs 4,707 per barrel today as traders indulged in enlarging their positions on the back of a firming trend overseas, after Western forces launched air strikes on oil-rich Libya.
At the Multi Commodity Exchange, crude oil for delivery in April gained Rs 74, or 1.60 per cent, to Rs 4,707 per barrel, clocking a business turnover of 25 lots.
Similarly, the crude for delivery in March edged up by Rs 67, or 1.47 per cent, to Rs 4,631 per barrel, with a business turnover of 25 lots.
Analysts attributed the rise in crude oil futures prices to a firm trend in the global market as allied strikes in Libya threatened to prolong the shutdown of supplies from North Africa’s third-biggest producer and renewed concerns that escalating turmoil may disrupt Middle East supplies.
Meanwhile, crude for delivery in April, today climbed $2.28 to $103.35 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
