Crude Oil Free Trial

Crude oil futures are trading lower in Asia electronic trades today as there is lack of cues in the market.

Most Asian markets rallied Friday, buoyed by signs of an improvement in global manufacturing, with mainland Chinese stocks rebounding from a drop the previous day.

Preliminary readings from HSBC Thursday showed China’s Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to 50.4 in November, signaling the first expansion in more than a year. HSBC data released during the European day also showed that while the region’s factories remained in contraction, business their conditions improved to an eight-month high.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.4% after a lower start, China’s Shanghai Composite climbed 0.6% and South Korea’s Kospi added 0.3%, while Singapore’s Straits Times Index inched up 0.1%, staying on course for a five-day winning streak.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 30 points, or 0.2%, to 12,830 after Thursday’s Thanksgiving holiday.

Crude oil futures for January delivery traded at $87.12 a barrel at down 0.26% on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It earlier traded at a session low $86.71 a barrel.

US Dollar Index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, fell 0.17% to trade at $80.70.

MCX December crude oil futures may open today’s session near Rs 4830 levels with support near Rs 4800 levels.

Crude Oil Free Trial

Crude oil futures surged in the Asia electronic session today after the data showed that Chinese manufacturing activity improved for the first time in more than a year in November.
Oil also got support from the falling dollar, a surprise decline in last week’s U.S. crude inventories and uncertainty in the Middle East despite a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.
Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration early Wednesday confirmed the surprise decline in last week’s crude inventories that was initially reported by the American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday. The EIA reported that crude supplies fell by 1.5 million barrels for the week ended Nov. 16.
The data released today showed that, Chinese manufacturing activity improved for the first time in more than a year in November, the preliminary reading of a survey by HSBC showed Thursday. In October, the final reading of the HSBC China manufacturing PMI came in at 49.5. The flash, or preliminary reading, is based on about 85% to 90% of the responses in HSBC's survey.
Benchmark U.S. crude oil for January delivery is trading up 81 cents to $87.56 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange during Asia trading hours. Yesterday, it settled at $87.38 a barrel for a gain of 0.7%.
Nymex floor trading was scheduled to close Thursday for Thanksgiving, with an abbreviated session slated for Friday.
A lower dollar also helped crude, as the ICE dollar, which measures the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, slipped to 80.835, compared with 80.937 in late North American trade Wednesday.
MCX December crude oil futures may open today’s session near Rs 4830 levels with resistance near Rs 4860 and Rs 4900 levels.