Mumbai, March 27 (IANS) Global crude oil prices remained highly volatile this week, with both the key benchmarks trading in negative on Friday.

Brent crude futures fell as much as 2.29 per cent to $105.53 per barrel as of 9:40 am, while US WTI crude declined 2.54 per cent to $92.08.

So far this week, Brent crude has dropped over 5 per cent, hovering near the $100 mark, while WTI crude has also fallen nearly 5 per cent to trade around $90.

Meanwhile, the Indian rupee weakened by 28 paise to hit an all-time low of 94.24 against the US dollar in early trade.

Amid the uncertainty, safe-haven demand pushed precious metals higher. Gold contracts for April 2 were trading at Rs 1,40,979, up Rs 1,486 or 1.07 per cent as of 10 am. Silver futures (May 5) were at Rs 2,24,097, up Rs 4,223 or 1.92 per cent.

The decline across commodities and equities comes amid continued uncertainty over the West Asia conflict, with no clear signs of de-escalation.

Market sentiment remains fragile after US President Donald Trump said the pause on attacks on Iran’s energy infrastructure would be extended into April, adding that talks with Tehran were progressing “very well”. However, an Iranian official termed a US proposal to end the conflict as “one-sided and unfair”.

Iran has also not confirmed any ongoing talks with the US.

Global equity markets remained under pressure, with US indices ending lower. The S&P 500 fell 1.74 per cent, while the Nasdaq declined 2.38 per cent. Asian markets followed suit, with Japan’s Nikkei slipping over 1 per cent and South Korea’s Kospi dropping around 3 per cent.

Back home, domestic equity benchmarks also opened in the red. The Sensex declined over 400 points to 74,883.79 in early trade, while the Nifty opened at 23,173.55, down 132.90 points or 0.57 per cent.

--IANS

ag/na