Zee Media Bureau
The international crude oil price of the Indian basket, computed by the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, fell to USD 34.20 per barrel on Wednesday, compared to USD 34.25 per barrel on the previous publishing day.
In rupee terms, the price of Indian Basket decreased to Rs 2,286.11 per barrel on December 16 as compared to Rs 2,296.04 per barrel on December 15, an official press release said.
Oil prices extended losses in Asia Thursday after rising US stockpiles reinforced fears of a prolonged global glut, while the dollar strengthened after the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates.
The commodity suffered fresh selling pressure on Wednesday after a report from the US Department of Energy showed that crude supplies rose 4.8 million barrels in the week ending December 11.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for January delivery fell to USD 35.52 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, its lowest closing price since February 2009.
After a brief recovery in early Asian trade on Thursday, it fell again and was trading eight cents down at USD 35.44.
European benchmark Brent crude for February, a new contract, was down 15 cents at USD 37.24.
