(raw materials / closing price /% change)

Oil 49.23 +0.10%

Gold 1,267.50 +0.07%

Oil prices rose markedly, returning to positive territory, aided by the official statistics on petroleum products in the US.. Support for oil was also a weakening US currency.

US Department of Energy reported that in the week from 14 to 21 October crude oil inventories fell by 553,000 barrels, while expected to grow by 1 mln barrels. Thus, oil reserves have shown reductions in seven of the last eight weeks. Oil reserves in Cushing terminal fell by 1.3 million barrels to 58.4 million barrels. Gasoline stocks fell by 2 million barrels to 226 million barrels. Analysts had expected a decline of only 600,000 barrels. Distillate stocks fell 3.4 million barrels to 152.4 million barrels, while analysts had expected a decline of 900,000 barrels. The utilization of refining capacity increased by 0.6% to 85.6%. Analysts suggested that the figure will rise to 0.7%. Meanwhile, oil production in the US rose to 8.504 million barrels per day versus 8.464 million barrels per day in the previous week.

"Traders were forced to close some short positions, however, do not expect a strong rise in prices. Investors want to understand whether the stock drop is only a one-off or it indicates improvement in the demand pattern..", - Gene McGillian said Tradition Energy.

The cost of the December futures on US light crude oil WTI (Light Sweet Crude Oil) rose to 49.72 dollars per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

December futures price for Brent crude rose to 50.40 dollars a barrel on the London Stock Exchange ICE Futures Europe.

Gold futures fell moderately, retreating from a 3-week high. The pressure on the precious metal had prospect of a Fed hike by the end of this year. However, the decline in world stock markets restrains the further drop in prices.

"We believe that gold will be hard to resist double" headwind ", namely the strengthening of the dollar and the Fed raising interest rates", - said Edward Meir, INTL FCStone.

The US Dollar Index, showing the US dollar against a basket of six major currencies, was trading lower by 0.15%. Since early October, the index increased by 3.3%. Since gold prices are tied to the dollar, a stronger dollar makes the precious metal more expensive for holders of foreign currencies.

Some support for gold gave an increase in physical demand on the eve of the Hindu festivals. At the end of the week India will celebrate the most important Hindu festival, Diwali. During this, gold is traditionally presented as a gift. In addition, analysts have noted that there are signs of strengthening demand from China - government data indicate that up to 2020 the import of gold into the country is likely to grow.

The cost of December futures for gold on the COMEX fell to $ 1269.5 per ounce.

This morning, the New York futures for Brent have fallen in price by 1.06% to $ 49.43 and WTI lost 0.83% to $ 50.37 per barrel. Thus, the black gold is traded in the red zone on news about the growth of US oil reserves, increased production in Nigeria, as well as controversy about the planned OPEC production cut and revived concerns about the global oil market glut.

According to the American Petroleum Institute inventories rose by 4.8 million barrels while expectations were for +1.7 million. Energy Information Administration will publish the official data later in the US session.

According to analysts, the debate within OPEC about the planned restriction of production later this year also put considerable pressure on the oil markets.