Oil prices rose on the U.S. initial jobless claims data. The number of initial jobless claims in the week ending September 05 in the U.S. declined by 6,000 to 275,000 from 281,000 in the previous week, in line with expectations. The previous week's figure was revised down from 282,000.

Gains were limited by U.S. oil inventories data. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its crude oil inventories data on Thursday. U.S. crude inventories climbed by 2.57 million barrels to 458.0 million in the week to September 4. It was the biggest one-week increase since April.

Analysts had expected U.S. crude oil inventories to rise by 200,000 barrels.

Gasoline inventories increased by 384,000 barrels, according to the EIA.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, declined by 897,000 barrels.

U.S. crude oil imports fell by 396,000 barrels per day.

Refineries in the U.S. were running at 90.9% of capacity, down from 92.8% the previous week.

Earlier, the weak economic data from China and Japan weighed on oil prices. The Chinese producer price index (PPI) dropped 5.9% in August, missing forecasts of a 5.5% fall, after a 5.4% decline in July. It was the biggest decline since 2009.

Core machine orders in Japan dropped 3.6% in August, missing expectations for a 3.7% rise, after a 7.9% decline in July.

On a yearly basis, core machine orders in Japan rose 2.8% in August, missing forecasts of a 10.5% gain, after a 16.6% rise in July.

Saudi Arabia said on Thursday that there is no need to hold an OPEC summit, according to sources familiar with the matter. The sources said that Saudi Arabia believes that it is better not to interfere in the market.

WTI crude oil for October delivery increased to $45.20 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent crude oil for October rose to $48.67 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe.

Gold price increased on a weaker U.S. dollar. But gains were limited as the uncertainty over the Fed's interest rate hike continue to weigh on gold. It remains unclear if the Fed will start raising its interest rate in September or not.

The weak Chinese economic data supported gold price. The Chinese producer price index (PPI) dropped 5.9% in August, missing forecasts of a 5.5% fall, after a 5.4% decline in July. It was the biggest decline since 2009.

October futures for gold on the COMEX today increased to 1108.60 dollars per ounce.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its crude oil inventories data on Thursday. U.S. crude inventories climbed by 2.57 million barrels to 458.0 million in the week to September 4. It was the biggest one-week increase since April.

Analysts had expected U.S. crude oil inventories to rise by 200,000 barrels.

Gasoline inventories increased by 384,000 barrels, according to the EIA.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, declined by 897,000 barrels.

U.S. crude oil imports fell by 396,000 barrels per day.

Refineries in the U.S. were running at 90.9% of capacity, down from 92.8% the previous week.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said at the World Economic Forum in Dalian that there will be no hard landing in China as the government is capable to support the economy.

"If there are signs that our economy is sliding, we have the adequate resources to deal with it," he said.

Li pointed out that China meet all its economic targets for this year.

The U.S. Labor Department released its jobless claims figures on Thursday. The number of initial jobless claims in the week ending September 05 in the U.S. declined by 6,000 to 275,000 from 281,000 in the previous week, in line with expectations. The previous week's figure was revised down from 282,000.

Jobless claims remained below 300,000 the 19th straight week. This threshold is associated with the strengthening of the labour market.

Continuing jobless claims increased by 1,000 to 2,260,000 in the week ended August 29.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) lowered its oil output forecasts for 2015 and 2016. Oil output in the U.S. is expected to be 9.2 million barrels a day this year and 8.8 million barrels a day in 2016.

Oil price forecasts were also cut. The WTI crude oil price is expected to be $53.57 a barrel in 2016, down 1.6% from its previous estimate, while the Brent crude oil price is expected to be $58.57 a barrel in 2016, down 1.4% from the previous forecast.

The Chinese National Bureau of Statistics released its consumer and producer price inflation data for China on Thursday. The Chinese consumer price index (CPI) rose at annual rate of 2.0% in August, exceeding expectations for a 1.8% increase, after a 1.6% gain in July.

The increase was driven by rises in food prices. Food prices rose at an annual rate of 3.7% in August, while non-food prices increased 1.1%.

On a monthly basis, consumer price inflation increased 0.5% in August, after a 0.3% rise in July.

The Chinese producer price index (PPI) dropped 5.9% in August, missing forecasts of a 5.5% fall, after a 5.4% decline in July. It was the biggest decline since 2009.

West Texas Intermediate futures for October delivery slid to $44.02 (-0.29%), while Brent crude fell to $47.26 (-0.67%) ahead of a closely-watched weekly report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg expect a 250,000 barrels rise in U.S. crude inventories in the week to September 4.

Meanwhile weak economic data from such Asian countries as China and Japan intensify concerns over the global economic growth and demand for oil at times of global supply glut.

Gold has stabilized at $1,105.80 (+0.34%) near a four-week low after yesterday's sharp decline, which was driven by strong data on U.S. labor market. The number of vacancies in the U.S. rose to 5.75 million in July from 5.323 million in June (revised from 5.249 million). Meanwhile the number of people, who found jobs, fell to 4.98 million in July from 5.18 million in the previous month. Analysts believe that a gap between the number of vacancies and the number of employed might mean that it's hard for employers to fill all vacancies at the current level of wages. Health of the labor market is one of key factors, which Fed policymakers consider when making decisions on interest rates. Higher rates would harm demand for the non-interest-bearing bullion.

Gold has failed to find a strong safe-haven demand despite the recent turmoil in stock markets around the globe, signaling that U.S. monetary policy is the key fundamental factor for its direction.

(raw materials / closing price /% change)

Oil 44.11 -0.09%

Gold 1,105.30 +0.30%