West Texas Intermediate futures for August delivery declined to $51.12 (+0.75%); Brent crude fell to $57.02 (-0.14%) after sources reported that Saudi exports fell to a five-month low of 6.935 million barrels a day despite record high output of over 10 million bpd. In April the Kingdom shipped 7.737 million bpd.

Meanwhile Baker Hughes Inc. said that U.S. producers cut seven oil drilling rigs last week.

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak and OPEC Secretary-General Abdullah al-Badri will meet in Moscow on July 30 to discuss oil markets and Iranian situation.

Gold is currently at $1,106.30 (-2.26%) an ounce. The metal dropped to a five-year low after positive economic data from the U.S. intensified expectations of an imminent rate hike by the Federal Reserve.

Some analysts believe that this sharp decline is a sign that some funds are pessimistic about the metal's outlook. "This kind of sharp drop during early Asian hours is a strong indication that a big fund is selling their holdings of gold," noted Gnanasekar Thiagarajan, director of Commtrendz Risk Management.

Some other analysts also say that this sharp drop couldn't be driven by fundamentals, because the dollar was stable the moment gold plunged.

(raw materials / closing price /% change)

Oil 50.78 -0.22%

Gold 1,132.30 +0.04%