Crude oil futures rose notably by 1.42 per cent to Rs 3,367 per barrel today as speculators raised their bets amid a firm trend overseas.
In futures trading at the Multi Commodity Exchange, crude oil for delivery in far-month July was trading sharply higher by Rs 47, or 1.42 per cent at Rs 3,367 per barrel in 234 lots.
On similar lines, crude for delivery in June was trading higher by Rs 46, or 1.40 per cent at Rs 3,325 per barrel in a business turnover of 7,082 lots.
Analysts said rise in crude oil futures was largely in tandem with a firming trend in Asia, where Brent powered back above USD 49 a barrel as oil prices resumed their rise after t he dollar eased and militants blew up another pipeline in African producer Nigeria.
A rally that pushed oil prices to a series of 2016 highs since last week had taken a breather over the past two days after minutes of an April meeting showed that the US Fed kept the door open to raising interest rates in June, sending the dollar higher.
Meanwhile, the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude prices for delivery in June was up 55 cents, or 1.14 per cent,at USD 48.71 a barrel and Brent crude for July rose 41 cents, or 0.84 per cent, to USD 49.22 a barrel.
