Though remained above $100 a barrel on Friday morning, Brent crude fell below $104 a barrel as fears over supply disruptions in West Asia eased.
At 9.59 am on Friday, November Brent oil futures were at $103.85, down by 0.93 per cent, and October crude oil futures on WTI (West Texas Intermediate) were at $101.28, down by 0.62 per cent. September crude oil futures were trading at ₹9688 on Multi Commodity Exchange () during the initial hour of trading on Friday against the previous close of ₹9758, down by 0.72 per cent, and October futures were trading at ₹9264 against the previous close of ₹9332, down by 0.73 per cent.
Market reports said Saudi Arabia wants to reach about half of the capacity of its East-West pipeline within a few days. The pipeline was damaged following the drone attacks by the Houthis last week.
Quoting industry sources, a Reuters report said three of the pipeline’s pumping stations were damaged. Markets fear that a prolonged closure of the pipeline could cut off nearly 4 per cent of global oil supply.
Reports also said that Saudi Arabia was offering crude cargoes through ship-to-ship transfers off Oman’s Sohar port.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump told Axios he was nearing a major decision on whether to restart massive attacks on Iran to bring the conflict to a close in West Asia.
Trump said: “I have a big decision coming up. Do I want to go in and annihilate them [the Iranian regime] or do I not? It’s a big decision. Anything could happen with me.”
Axios report said though has made similar threats before, his comments come ahead of a planned meeting Tuesday with leaders from six Gulf countries — Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman — on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
September natural gas futures were trading at ₹275 on MCX during the initial hour of trading on Friday against the previous close of ₹279.20, down by 1.50 per cent.
On the National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX),October guargum contracts were trading at ₹13308 in the initial hour of trading on Friday against the previous close of ₹13199, up by 0.83 per cent.
October turmeric (farmer polished) futures were trading at ₹20046 on NCDEX in the initial hour of trading on Friday against the previous close of ₹20262, down by 1.07 per cent.