The cost of oil fell today, and is on its way to its first weekly decline in the past five weeks, which was associated with the publication of the data, which showed that the volume of U.S. industrial unexpectedly fell, causing concern with the fact that economic activity will grow more slowly than anticipated. Note that industrial output fell by 0.1% against 0.2% expected and revised from 0.4% to 0.3% of the previous value.

Meanwhile, the pressure on the oil have expectations meeting G20, which will examine the economic policy and its impact on the exchange rate. Economists worry that competitive devaluations could lead to "currency wars", which in turn will lead to the impoverishment of many countries.

At the same time, many traders and strategists say that the commodity market is significantly affected by a number of weak economic indicators, which suggests that the world economy will grow less quickly than expected.

In addition, the price of oil also continues to influence concern about Iran's nuclear program, as well as other countries in the Middle East. Meanwhile, fears that the conflict could deter oil supplies fell slightly after the Middle East has taken steps to slow the growth of stocks of nuclear materials that could be used to make bombs.

March futures price of U.S. light crude oil WTI (Light Sweet Crude Oil) fell $ 1.69, and now stands at 95.62 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

March futures price for North Sea petroleum mix of mark Brent fell $ 1.35, and is now $ 116.65 a barrel on the London Stock Exchange ICE Futures Europe.

Gold prices fell sharply today, reaching a six-month low in this case, which was associated with breaking through key support levels at $ 1625, and an increase in sales after experiencing a high of $ 1,620 an ounce.

Note that the weak appetite for the precious metal from investors and lack of demand from China during the Lunar New Year has led to the fact that the gold is on the way to a 3-percent drop this week, which is the largest decline since June.

Economists say that the losses in the euro also put pressure on the metal. Note that the single currency has continued to remain in negative territory against the dollar after data showed that the index of activity in the manufacturing sector from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York rose in February, registering with the first increase in seven months.

We also add that investing in gold fell this year on signs that countries such as the United States and China are rising, while the problem of sovereign debt and the economic downturn in Europe continued to deteriorate.

Note that now the focus of market participants remains G20 meeting and subsequent statements that may affect the dynamics of the markets, and to shed light on the monetary policy.

In addition, data released Thursday showed that billionaire investor George Soros reduced his holdings in SPDR Gold Trust, which is the world's largest gold exchange-traded fund, more than half in the fourth quarter, while the largest shareholder of GLD John Paulson leave their possessions intact.

February futures price of gold on COMEX today dropped, and now is up to 1604.00 dollars per ounce.

Change % Change Last

Oil $97.36 +0.05 +0.05%

Gold $1,637.00 +1.50 +0.09%