Oil Prices Hover Near Third Weekly Decline; Petrol, Diesel Price Hiked In Various Indian Cities On Friday

Oil prices changed minorly and looked to move towards their third weekly decline on Friday after rising in the earlier session. As concerns over supply disruptions due to the Israel-Hamas conflict have receded, demand worries especially from the world's second-largest oil consumer China have dented market sentiments.

According to Reuters, Brent crude futures for January were unchanged at $80.01 per barrel at 0157 GMT, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for December were down 7 cents at $75.67.

Brent futures have fallen 5.7% this week while WTI has slumped 5.9% since last week. The three weeks of declines are the longest weekly losing streak for the two contracts since May.

On Thursday, the White House said that Israel had agreed to pause military operations in parts of north Gaza for four hours in a day, though there was no sign of a complete let-up.

Earlier, weak Chinese economic data announced this week raised concerns of faltering demand. Besides, refiners in China asked for less supply from Saudi Arabia (the world's largest exporter) for December.

Analysts at Citi expect the downward pressure to ease and prices to recover after falling to their lowest since July earlier this week, reported Reuters.

Oil prices outlook:

Citi was quoted by Reuters as saying, "We expect prices to consolidate, and we maintain our near-term price forecasts with support expected to come from refinery maintenance easing and a shift in the risk-reward for investors following the recent sell-off."

In the current situation, it would not be wrong to say that the oil market is the weakest it has been since late June before Saudi Arabia and its OPEC⁺ countries slashed crude production by over 1 million barrels per day.

Check New Updates Petrol and diesel In Your City Today

In the national capital Delhi, the price of one litre of petrol and diesel is Rs 96.72 and Rs. 89.62 respectively.

1 litre of Petrol in Bangalore is retailing at Rs 101.99, while the same quantity of diesel is selling at Rs 87.94 in the city.

In Noida, 1 litre of petrol costs Rs 96.92, while the price of the same quantity of diesel is Rs 90.08. One litre of Diesel in Gurgaon retails at Rs 89.72, while the cost of one litre of Petrol in the city is Rs 96.84.

In Chennai, 1 litre of Petrol is retailing at Rs 102.77, while the same quantity of diesel is selling at Rs 94.37 in the city.