Oil holds near 4-month high, logs 3% weekly gain on IEA demand forecast, Ukraine attack; Brent at $83/bbl
Live MintOil prices declined on Friday, March 16, a day after topping the $85 per barrel-mark for the first time since November, but prices settled almost three per cent higher for the week on higher demand from US refiners and the oil demand projections for 2024 by the International Energy Agency. Coming to domestic prices, crude oil futures last settled 0.15 per cent lower at ₹6,730 per barrel on the Multi Commodity Exchange. -US crude oil stockpiles also fell unexpectedly last week as refineries ramped up processing while gasoline inventories slumped as demand rose, said the Energy Information Administration. Contributing to the rise in crude oil prices are the Ukrainian assaults deep within Russia, which have incapacitated approximately 12 per cent of Russia's total capacity for processing oil.