Futures for Brent crude fell significantly today, dropping at the same time below $ 57, which is associated with the growth of the US currency. Meanwhile, the price of WTI crude oil fell by more than 1%, as market participants await fresh data on oil reserves.

The American Petroleum Institute plans to publish its report on stocks today, while government data will be presented on Wednesday (experts expect that oil reserves for the week ending March 6, rose by 4.2 million barrels)..

"Crude oil inventories in the United States certainly increased over the past week, we still just do not know how - said the expert Energy Analytics Group Tom Finlon. - The US dollar strengthened, and against this background it is difficult to play on the rising cost of oil. "

Effect on the price of oil also have concerns its excess in the market. According to analysts Energy Aspects, refinery production facilities around the world in April nearer to a peak of 5.7 million barrels per day.

"The problem of excess supply will not go away - said a senior analyst at CMC Markets Plc in London Michael Hewson. - Crude oil inventories continue to grow, although the fall in oil prices has stopped. It will be interesting to see whether the US will cut production when the storage capacity will be exhausted. "

Meanwhile, investors have paid attention to the report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), which showed that the net increase in production of shale oil in the US in April 2015 may be compared with March only 1 thousand. Barrels per day. This is the lowest rate since 2011. Under the net production growth EIA understands production growth due to the introduction of new wells in the oil section of net production, due to the drop-down production of existing wells.

A sharp decline in oil prices also contributed to data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China on the reduction of import commodities. In particular, because of the long New Year holidays imports of oil, iron ore, copper, and aluminum and steel fell in February to 20.5% in annual terms. Analysts had expected the index to reduce by 10%. A faster rate in February was down oil imports, which amounted to 25.55 million tons, which is 8.7% less than in January.

April futures price for US light crude oil WTI (Light Sweet Crude Oil) dropped to 48.53 dollars per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

April futures price for North Sea Brent crude oil mix fell $ 1.80 to 56.66 dollars a barrel on the London Stock Exchange ICE Futures Europe.

Gold prices fell today, updating the three-month low, but was later able to recover some lost ground. The pressure on the precious metal has continued strengthening of the US dollar against the backdrop of improving the prospects of an early Fed rate.

Experts note that the Fed is likely to start raising interest rates in the middle of this year. Fears of imminent rate hike in the United States have strengthened after the publication of strong data on unemployment in February. Decreased to 5.5% from 5.7% in January. The number of jobs in the non-agricultural sector grew by 295,000. The analysts predicted a decline in unemployment to 5.6% growth in the number of jobs to 241 thousand.

As investors await the outcome of the Fed meeting to find out whether policies have not abandoned his intention to be "patient" in the timing recovery rates. Recall expectations of interest on loans have a negative impact on the precious metal because it fails to compete with earning assets during the period of rising rates.

The course of trade is also affected by uncertainty about Greece. Today, experts in finance from Greece to start negotiations with the representatives of the EU, the ECB and the IMF on economic reforms in the country to get new loans. "If the debt situation in Greece will not come significant deterioration, pessimistic mood in the gold market is likely to continue, which will reduce its appeal as a safe-haven" - said an analyst at Phillip Futures Howie Lee.

Higher prices for precious metals helps present downturn in the stock markets of Europe. "If the stock markets are in the process of correction, the gold may be one of the main beneficiaries in the short term," - said an analyst at Forex.com Fawad Razakzada. The expert also noted that in respect of gold, much will depend on the activity in the stock markets, which, despite the sale, are a priority among investors due to record low interest rates.

Meanwhile, today it became known that the stocks of the world's largest gold ETF-secured fund SPDR Gold Trust at the end of Monday declined by 0.43% - to the level of 753.04 tons.

April futures price of gold on the COMEX today fell to 1162.30 dollars per ounce.

Oil traded lower on Tuesday with Brent Crude losing -1.38%, currently trading at USD57.72 a barrel - the lowest in two weeks. West Texas Intermediate declined -0.66% currently quoted at USD49.67.

Market participants now look ahead to the API Crude Oil Inventories to see whether stockpiles in the U.S., the world's largest consumer of oil, grew. Tomorrow the government report on stockpiles is expected to show an increase.

Weaker than expected Chinese PPI data reported today fuelled concerns about economic growth of the world's second largest consumer of oil.

On Sunday OPEC Secretary-General Abdullah al-Badri said that OPEC members should not lower production as this would only help U.S. producers with their higher-cost shale. Data from Baker Hughes on Friday showed that U.S. rig-numbers further declined by 63 - the lowest count since June 2011.

Oil prices declined by almost 60% between June 2014 and January 2015 and recovered by almost 35% in 2015.Although prices rebounded after setting new lows, worldwide supply still exceeds demand in a period of low global economic growth, pushing stockpiles to record highs and weighing on prices.

Gold continued to decline and is trading at 15-week lows as a stronger U.S. dollar weighs. Better-than-expected U.S. jobs data reported last Friday added to expectations that the FED will hike interest rates rather sooner than later sending the precious metal down. A U.S. rate hike is now expected to happen possibly as soon as June.

A stronger U.S. dollar and the prospect for higher U.S. rates recently weighed on the precious metal as the precious metal is dollar-denominated and not yield-bearing.

Continuing uncertainty over Greece could not support the price of gold. The country remains in the focus as the proposed list of measures is far from complete, the head of Eurogroup Jeroen Dijsselbloem said on Sunday. On Monday ECB president Mario Draghi urged Greek officials to let return Eurozone-representatives to Greece in order to examine the government's books as a precondition for further financial aid. Greece agreed on allowing experts from the ECB and IMF to start their work on Wednesday.

Gold is currently quoted at USD1,161.50, +0,46% a troy ounce. On Thursday the 22nd of January gold reached a five-month high at USD1,307.40.

BLOOMBERG

Apple CEO Tim Cook Embraces Technology and Luxury to Win in Smartwatches

Apple Inc. is betting that its first new gadget in five years, a smartwatch costing from $349 to more than $10,000, will offer the right blend of technology and luxury to lure even more customers and boost sales.

Apple Watch has a customizable face and will run 18 hours with typical use, Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said at an event in San Francisco Monday. He was making the case for why consumers would want to add another digital product to their daily lives, highlighting the watch's ability to track health, send notifications and serve as a status symbol.

"Apple Watch is the most personal device we have ever created -- it's not just with you, it's on you," Cook said. "Since what you wear is an expression of who you are, we designed Apple Watch to appeal to a whole variety of people with different tastes and different preferences."

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-09/apple-ceo-tim-cook-begins-to-make-the-case-for-smartwatches

REUTERS
Varoufakis unsettles Germans with admission Greece won't repay debts

(Reuters) - Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has described his country as the most bankrupt in the world and said European leaders knew all along that Athens would never repay its debts, in blunt comments that sparked a backlash in the German media on Tuesday.

A documentary about the Greek debt crisis on German public broadcaster ARD was aired on the same day euro zone finance ministers met in Brussels to discuss whether to provide Athens with further funding in exchange for delivering reforms.

"Clever people in Brussels, in Frankfurt and in Berlin knew back in May 2010 that Greecewould never pay back its debts. But they acted as if Greece wasn't bankrupt, as if it just didn't have enough liquid funds," Varoufakis told the documentary.

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/10/us-eurozone-greece-varoufakis-idUSKBN0M60MN20150310

REUTERS

Brent falls while U.S. crude gains on easing stockbuild

(Reuters) - Brent prices fell 2 percent on Monday pressured by European Central Bank bond-buying, while U.S. crude rose about 1 percent on a smaller-than-expected build in inventories at the key Cushing oil hub, leading to a narrowing gap between the two benchmarks.

Brent's premium to U.S. crude CL-LCO1=R, one of the biggest oil plays, narrowed to less than $9 a barrel, tripping up some traders who had bet the spread would expand this week after a recent 13-month high above $13.

Brent was pressured as the ECB started buying bonds under its quantitative easing program, a move that implies a certain level of deflation, said Bob Yawger at Mizuho Securities in New York.

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/09/us-markets-oil-idUSKBN0M505B20150309

(raw materials / closing price /% change)

Oil 50.00 +0.79%

Gold 1,166.30 -0.02%