Crude oil futures retreated on Monday as concerns about the debt crisis in the Eurozone continue to have an impact on reducing the demand for oil, and against the background of the worsening dispute between the political elite of Iran.

Futures declined due to a meeting of officials of the euro area, which takes place in Luxembourg. Investors also await the signal that Europe will review the situation regarding the worsening financial crisis in Spain.

The problems in Europe have weighed on the oil market and the financial crisis on the continent has reduced demand for oil and raised fears that the economic problems could spread to other places.

News helped boost the dollar against the euro, which will also reduce the price of oil, making dollar-denominated commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies.

We also learned that Iranian lawmakers have criticized President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad over the decline in value of the currency of Iran and its views on the economy. Recall that the Iranian president is under fire for months against the inability to resolve the confrontation between Tehran and the West over its nuclear program.

Investors are taking this step as a sign that Western sanctions are working, reducing the chances of an imminent military strike by Israel or the wider conflict that could disrupt crude supplies.

Oil prices fell by about 3% this month, as the market focus shifted back to the problems of slowing demand. Weakness in the U.S., Europe and China, which are the largest consumers of oil in the world is also providing significant pressure on the market. Friday relatively upbeat U.S. jobs report failed to stop the last one of the sources of growth for the market has been a series of recent surveys of oil refineries in the U.S., which caused a rise in gasoline prices. Note that in California, the retail prices approach $ 5 per gallon, while prices in the wholesale market fell on Friday.

Also today it was announced that the price of Brent oil over WTI oil prices reached their highest level since last October. Tensions over Iran is supporting oil Brent, while growth stocks in the U.S. is putting pressure on oil WTI.

November futures price of U.S. light crude oil WTI (Light Sweet Crude Oil) is 89.48 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

November futures price of North Sea Brent crude oil mixture is 111.94 dollars a barrel on the London Stock Exchange ICE Futures Europe.

Most of today's gold futures traded at a significant reduction in the background of the fact that the strengthening of the dollar resulted in a decline in demand for the precious metal as an alternative investment.

Note that the dollar rose 0.5% against a basket of currencies against the meeting of European finance ministers in Luxembourg, as well as speculation that Spain is trying to avoid the need for loans due to the growth of sovereign debt .. We note that on Friday, gold fell from its highest level in 11 months, which was caused by the published data, which showed that the U.S. unemployment rate fell to its lowest level since January 2009, releasing the pressure on the Fed.

Precious metals prices rose by 5.1% last month on speculation the incentive program in the U.S., Europe and Japan will increase the appeal of the metal as an alternative to currencies.

But despite this decline, the last couple of hours the price of gold rose sharply, and gradually approaching the opening day.

October futures price of gold on the COMEX is now 1775.1 dollars per ounce.