The Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen testified before the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday. She said that the Fed and markets were surprised by oil price movements.

"We have been quite surprised by movements in oil prices. I think in part they reflect supply influences, but demand may also play a role," she said.

Yellen pointed out that it is too earlier to decide on monetary policy actions in March.

The Fed chairwoman noted that the Fed discussed negative rates in 2010, and it ready to implement negative rates if needed.

"We wouldn't take those [negative interest rates] off the table, but we have work to do to judge whether they would be workable here," Yellen said.

Oil prices traded lower on concerns over the slowdown in the global economy and on high U.S. crude oil inventories. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday, U.S. crude inventories declined by 0.75 million barrels to 502.0 million in the week to February 05. Analysts had expected U.S. crude oil inventories to rise by 3.6 million barrels. Gasoline inventories increased by 1.3 million barrels, according to the EIA. Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, increased by 523,000 barrels.

Reuters reported on Thursday that Saudi Arabia could agree to "freeze" oil output from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC countries at current levels if Iran will agree to sign such an agreement. To "freeze" oil output at current levels is a Venezuelan proposal. According to the source familiar with the matter, Qatar and the Russia had given their initial agreement.

WTI crude oil for February delivery declined to $26.34 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent crude oil for March fell to $30.23 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe.

The World Gold Council (WGC) released its report on Thursday. The World Gold Council (WGC) released its report on Thursday. Demand for gold totalled 1,117.7 tons in the fourth quarter, up 4% from the same period in 2014. It was the highest demand in more than two years.

The increase was mainly driven by central banks (+25%) and investment (+15%).

Global demand for jewellery fell by 1% in the fourth quarter to 671.4 tons, down from 677.4 tons a year ago. Jewellery makes up about 60% of global gold consumption.

In 2015 as whole, global gold demand was flat compared to the previous year, while global supply fell by 4%.

Gold price rose on increasing demand for safe-haven assets as market participants are concerned about financial instability. A weaker U.S. dollar also supported gold.

The World Gold Council (WGC) released its report on Thursday. Demand for gold totalled 1,117.7 tons in the fourth quarter, up 4% from the same period in 2014. It was the highest demand in more than two years. The increase was mainly driven by central banks and investment.

March futures for gold on the COMEX today rose to 1245.90 dollars per ounce.

Global News reported on Wednesday that Canada sold nearly half its gold reserves in recent weeks. According to the latest data, Canada's gold reserves totalled 1.7 tonnes last week, down from 3 tonnes in late 2015. It is only 0.1% of Canada's total reserves.

The Canadian government continued to move away from gold as a government-held asset.

Reuters reported on Thursday that Saudi Arabia could agree to "freeze" oil output from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC countries at current levels if Iran will agree to sign such an agreement. To "freeze" oil output at current levels is a Venezuelan proposal.

According to the source familiar with the matter, Qatar and the Russia had given their initial agreement.

The U.S. Labor Department released its jobless claims figures on Thursday. The number of initial jobless claims in the week ending February 06 in the U.S. declined by 16,000 to 269,000 from 285,000 in the previous week.

Analysts had expected jobless claims to fall to 281,000.

Jobless claims remained below 300,000 the 49th straight week. This threshold is associated with the strengthening of the labour market.

Continuing jobless claims declined by 21,000 to 2,239,000 in the week ended January 30.

West Texas Intermediate futures for March delivery fell to $26.99 (-1.68%), while Brent crude declined to $30.65 (+1.68%) amid concerns over excessive supplies.

The Energy Information Administration reported on Wednesday that U.S. crude oil inventories fell by 754,000 barrels last week, while economists had expected a rise of 3.6 million barrels. Nevertheless stockpiles at Cushing rose by 523,000 barrels to a record 64.7 million barrels suggesting that the country's inventories will rise in the coming weeks.

Gold rose to $1,206.20 (-0.97%) amid risk-aversion.

Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen was neither too hawkish nor too dovish speaking to the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday. Yellen noted weakness in financial conditions, but left the door open for a rate hike this year.

The World Gold Council reported on Thursday that demand for gold rose in the fourth quarter of 2015 as Chinese investors tried to protect their funds from a weakening currency and central banks tried to diversify their reserves. Central banks bought 25% more gold in Q4.

Chinese demand for gold coins rose by 25% in Q4 2015 compared to the previous quarter. However slowing economy undermined demand for jewelry, which fell by 3% on an annualized basis. Chinese demand for the precious metal totalled 985 tonnes in 2015, followed by India's 849 tonnes. Together these two counties accounted for almost 45% of total global demand.

(raw materials / closing price /% change)

Oil 27.33 -0.44%

Gold 1,197.30 +0.23%