Crude oil hits 4-month high above USD 108 amid renewed US-Iran conflict

Brent crude oil prices the global oil benchmark surged to a fourmonth high of USD 10877 per barrel on Friday amid the heightened tensions between US and Iran reported news agency ANIThe oil prices have jumped over 12 per cent over the past week as the renewed tensions in West Asia have raised concerns over possible supply disruptions It had last touched similar levels in May but subsequently declined to below USD 80 per barrel after the two nations had paused the military actionsHowever the prices eased a bit with Brent crude declining 144 per cent to USD 10608 per barrel in New York in the afternoon according to news agency PTIBrent crude has climbed to its highest level since May as the ongoing USIran conflict continues to disrupt oil flows from the Middle East For India crude near USD 110 a barrel would further intensify pressure on inflation the rupee the current account and corporate margins while reducing the scope for monetary easing Hariselvan Radhakrishnan Founder and CEO of HST Wealth a Research Analyst firm saidIndia is the third largest consumer and importer of crude oil and the soaring crude oil prices is likely to impact its import bill putting pressure on the current accountBrent crude remains elevated near USD 109 a barrel close to a fivemonth high keeping pressure on Indias import bill and inflation outlook Rajesh Palviya Head of Research Axis Direct saidCrude oil futures on MCXIn the domestic futures trade crude oil prices slipped by Rs 58 to Rs 9664 per barrel in the futures trade on Friday amid weak global trends as per PTIOn the Multi Commodity Exchange crude oil futures for September delivery declined Rs 58 or 060 per cent to Rs 9664 per barrel in a business turnover of 19617 lots after participants sold their holdings amid weak demandGlobally West Texas Intermediate crude was trading 114 per cent lower at USD 10131 per barrelCrude oil weighs on rupee and Indian equitiesThe rupee depreciated 27 paise to 9579 against the US dollar in early trade on Friday dragged down by the elevated crude oil pricesThe domestic equity benchmark indices declined sharply in the early trade on Friday with the the 30share BSE Sensex tanked 64530 points or 086 per cent at 7425729 while the 50share NSE Nifty lost 21640 points or 092 per cent at 2326140Headwinds for the market are getting stronger with the escalation in the Middle East conflict Brent crude has shot up to around USD 108 If this high price sustains or worse spikes further the impact on Indias GDP growth and consequently on corporate earnings will not be insignificant V K Vijayakumar Chief Investment Strategist Geojit Investments saidWith inputs from ANI and PTI