ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): The oil markets experienced a significant increase on Wednesday because prices went up by more than three dollars when U.S. gasoline and distillate inventories unexpectedly decreased.
The rally grew stronger through the announcement of gunfire attacks which hit three container vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and the halt of peace talks between the United States and Iran.
Brent crude futures reached $101.8 per barrel at 12:50 pm EDT when they rose by $3.32, which represented a 3.37 percent increase. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures reached $93.28 per barrel after they rose by $3.61, which represented a 4.03 percent increase.
Tuesday’s session saw both benchmarks increase by approximately 3 percent because they had already achieved gains. During the session, U.S. crude futures increased by more than $4 per barrel when they reached their highest point.
The Energy Information Administration reported that U.S. crude inventories increased during the week that ended on April 17. The unexpected gasoline and distillate stock drawdown led to overall price increases, which outweighed the inventory gains.
Ghee, Cooking Oil Prices Increase
Despite the fluctuations in petroleum products, inflation has caused continuing upward pressure on the price of petroleum products and thus resulted in a significant increase in the wholesale price of ghee and cooking oil.
The All Pakistan General Store Association and other grocery stores indicate that the price for premium ghee and cooking oil has increased by Rs30/kg from Rs560/kg to Rs590/kg.
Second-rate cooking oil has also increased by Rs35/litre from Rs510/litre to Rs545/litre. Second-rate ghee has increased by Rs25/kg from Rs510/kg to Rs535/kg.
Retailers have noted that the continuing increase in the price of commodities is putting additional pressure on consumers financially and that most households will be negatively affected by the ongoing inflationary pressure.
