(raw materials / closing price /% change)

Oil 50.55 +0.22%

Gold 1,259.40 +0.14%

Crude oil futures fell slightly, retreating from the highs of this week, move caused by mixed US petroleum inventories data.

US Department of Energy reported that crude oil inventories rose last week by 4.9 million barrels. According to the forecast, it was expected to grow by 1.75 million barrels. Gasoline inventories fell by 1.9 mln barrels, while analysts had expected a decrease of 1.491 million barrels. Oil reserves in Cushing terminal fell by 1.318 million barrels, amounting to 61.334 million barrels. Imports of US crude rose by 0.151 million barrels per day to 7.861 million barrels per day. Distillate inventories in the US decreased by 3.7 mln barrels to 157.0 million barrels. Meanwhile, the US refinery utilization fell to 85.5% against 88.3% the previous week

The cost of the November futures for US light crude oil WTI (Light Sweet Crude Oil) fell to 50.10 dollars per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

November futures price for North Sea petroleum mix of mark Brent fell to 51.60 dollars a barrel on the London Stock Exchange ICE Futures Europe.

Gold rose moderately, supported by the weakening of the US dollar and increased demand for safe-haven assets in response to the fall in world stock markets.

The US Dollar Index, showing the US dollar against a basket of six major currencies, was trading lower by 0.3%. Since gold prices are tied to the dollar, a weaker dollar makes the precious metal cheaper for holders of foreign currencies. "Gold prices have difficulties to sustain an upward movement, but also reluctant to move down, investors are waiting for new drivers", - said Georgette Boele of ABN AMRO.

Traders note that some investors have started to buy gold after world markets fell to 3-week lows in response to weak trade data from China, revived concerns about the state of the second-largest economy in the world.

"Noted an increase in purchases of physical gold in Asia, mostly from China and exchange-traded funds", - said one of the Chinese traders in precious metals.

A slight pressure on the gold had data on the US labor market, which increased the probability of a Fed rate hike until the end of the year.

The cost of the October futures for gold on COMEX rose to $ 1257.6 per ounce.

This morning, the New York futures for Brent have fallen in price by 0.76% to $ 49.80 and crude oil futures WTI down 0.58% to $ 51.48 per barrel. Thus, the black gold is trading in the red zone on China's weak trade and an increase in US oil inventories, according to industry estimates.

The American Petroleum Institute announced that US crude oil inventories rose last week by 2.7 million barrels, after a decrease of 7.6 million the previous week. This increase marked the end of three consecutive weeks a significant decrease in stocks. Stocks in oil storage at Cushing fell by 1.35 million barrels, distillate stocks fell by 4.5 million and gasoline inventories increased by 700 thousand.

OPEC will hold talks today with non-member oil producers to discuss details of the agreement to restrict the volume of production for at least six months. Russia has supported the idea. But analysts still fear that the plan will fail if Russia will remain under question.