Energy intraday

· Oil was lower in cautious trade today, ahead of the OPEC meeting where ministers are widely expected to leave production quotas unchanged.

· On Monday, WTI crude hit a record 103.95 usd inNew York on dollar weakness, as investor interest in commodities surged and on nervousness over OPEC's decision.

· Commodities across the board have rallied impressively over the past few days as investor demand has strengthened and as a weak dollar made raw materials priced in the greenback relatively cheaper for those trading in stronger currencies. Gold and platinum reached new peaks today, while other precious and base metals stayed close to multi-year peaks.

· Looking ahead, all eyes will be fixed on the outcome of OPEC's production meeting, while weekly US inventory figures out tomorrow will help provide some direction.

· OPEC, which pumps well over a third of the world's oil, kicks off its meeting at 10.00 am CET.

· While the group is still likely to maintain its output quotas, talk of a possible production cut going into the low-demand second quarter persists. The cartel is facing opposing pressures both to reduce supply in response to rising stockpiles and easing demand, and to raise production to curb soaring prices.

· Overall, analysts still expect ministers to maintain the status quo. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) will release the weekly fuel inventory snapshot tomorrow.

· US crude oil stocks are likely to have risen for the eighth week in a row last week, according to analysts polled by Thomson Financial News. The analysts expect crude stocks rose by about 2.07 mln barrels in the week to Feb 29.

· Elsewhere in the report, analysts expect to see a 344,000-barrel gain in gasoline stocks and a 2.1 mln-barrel fall in distillate stocks, which include heating oil, as the colder weather spurs demand. Refinery runs, meanwhile, are predicted to have jumped 0.37 percentage points from the week before.

MCX Crude Oil March

Technical Outlook:

Momentum studies are bullish but are now at overbought levels and will tend to support reversal action if it occurs. The daily stochastics have crossed over up which is a bullish indication. The stochastics indicators are rising from oversold level, which is bullish and should support higher prices. The market's short-term trend is positive as the close remains above the 9-day moving average. The downside closing price reversal on the daily chart is somewhat negative.

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MCX Natural gas March

Technical Outlook:

Momentum studies are bullish but are now at overbought levels and will tend to support reversal action if it occurs. The daily stochastics have crossed over up which is a bullish indication. The stochastics indicators are rising from oversold level, which is bullish and should support higher prices. The market's short-term trend is positive as the close remains above the 9-day moving average. The downside closing price reversal on the daily chart is somewhat negative.

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