Oil prices rose despite an increase in U.S. crude inventories. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its crude oil inventories data on Thursday. U.S. crude inventories increased by 3.98 million barrels to 486.5 million in the week to January 15.

Analysts had expected U.S. crude oil inventories to rise by 2.75 million barrels.

Gasoline inventories increased by 4.6 million barrels, according to the EIA.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, climbed by 191,000 barrels.

U.S. crude oil imports decreased by 409,000 barrels per day.

Refineries in the U.S. were running at 90.6% of capacity, down from 91.2% the previous week.

Concerns over the global oil oversupply continued to weigh on oil prices. The chairman of Saudi Arabian Oil Co. (Saudi Aramco), Saudi Arabian state-owned oil producer, Khalid al-Falid said at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday that Saudi Arabia can withstand low oil prices for a long period as production costs in Saudi Arabia are the lowest. But he expects higher prices by the end of the year.

al-Falid noted that the country is ready to cooperate with other oil producer to balance the oil market.

WTI crude oil for March delivery rose to $29.41 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent crude oil for March increased to $28.73 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe.

Gold price fell on a stronger U.S. dollar. The U.S. dollar rose on comments by the European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi. He hinted at a press conference on Thursday that the central bank may add further stimulus measures at its meeting in March as downside risks rose.

"Downside risks have increased again amid heightened uncertainty about emerging market economies' growth prospects, volatility in financial and commodity markets, and geopolitical risks. In this environment, euro area inflation dynamics also continue to be weaker than expected," he said.

"It will therefore be necessary to review and possibly reconsider our monetary policy stance at our next meeting in early March, when the new staff macroeconomic projections become available which will also cover the year 2018," Draghi added.

The U.S. economic data was mixed. The U.S. Labor Department released its jobless claims figures on Thursday. The number of initial jobless claims in the week ending January 16 in the U.S. rose by 10,000 to 293,000 from 283,000 in the previous week. Analysts had expected jobless claims to fall to 278,000.

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank released its manufacturing index on Thursday. The index climbed to -3.5 in January from -10.2 in December, exceeding expectations for an increase to -5.0.

February futures for gold on the COMEX today dropped to 1092.50 dollars per ounce.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its crude oil inventories data on Thursday. U.S. crude inventories increased by 3.98 million barrels to 486.5 million in the week to January 15.

Analysts had expected U.S. crude oil inventories to rise by 2.75 million barrels.

Gasoline inventories increased by 4.6 million barrels, according to the EIA.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, climbed by 191,000 barrels.

U.S. crude oil imports decreased by 409,000 barrels per day.

Refineries in the U.S. were running at 90.6% of capacity, down from 91.2% the previous week.

The People's Bank of China (PBoC) said on its website on Thursday that it injected 400 billion yuan ($61 billion) into market to boost liquidity via short-term loans (reverse-repurchase agreements).

The central bank usually injects extra money before the Lunar New Year holiday.

Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao said in an interview with Bloomberg News that China will remain the global growth engine.

He pointed out that the country's economy is expected to grow between 6% and 7% over the next five years.

Li noted that the weak global demand weighs on the Chinese economy, but he added that the country's economy "has enormous development potential".

The chairman of Saudi Arabian Oil Co. (Saudi Aramco), Saudi Arabian state-owned oil producer, Khalid al-Falid said at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday that Saudi Arabia can withstand low oil prices for a long period as production costs in Saudi Arabia are the lowest. But he expects higher prices by the end of the year.

al-Falid noted that the country is ready to cooperate with other oil producer to balance the oil market.

The U.S. Labor Department released its jobless claims figures on Thursday. The number of initial jobless claims in the week ending January 16 in the U.S. rose by 10,000 to 293,000 from 283,000 in the previous week. The previous week's figure was revised down from 284,000.

Analysts had expected jobless claims to fall to 278,000.

Jobless claims remained below 300,000 the 46th straight week. This threshold is associated with the strengthening of the labour market.

Continuing jobless claims declined by 56,000 to 2,208,000 in the week ended January 09.

Fitch Ratings said on Wednesday that it expects WTI crude price to be $45 a barrel in 2016. In stress case, WTI crude price is expected to $35 a barrel.

"Fitch believes oil prices in the current $30/barrel spot range are not sustainable over a protracted period, as they cover cash costs but not the replacement of developed reserves," the agency said.

Reuters reported on Wednesday that according to OPEC sources, Venezuela called for an emergency meeting to discuss the stabilisation of the oil market as oil prices hit the lows of 2003.

It is unlikely that an emergency meeting will be held as Saudi Arabia's strategy is to defend market shares.

The next scheduled OPEC meeting is scheduled to be on June 02.

Iran lowered crude prices for its European consumers. The reason for this step is the competition with Saudi Arabia.

Iran's discount for European consumers is $6.55 a barrel on heavy crude, while Saudi Arabia's discount is $4.85 a barrel.

International sanctions on Iran were lifted over the weekend after the International Atomic Energy Agency announced that Tehran had fulfilled its commitment.

Iran said on Sunday that it plans to raise its exports by 500,000 barrels per day.

Iran is a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and is the fifth biggest OPEC oil producer.

West Texas Intermediate futures for March delivery fell to $28.11 (-0.85%), while Brent crude declined to $27.68 (-2.12%) amid concerns over health of the global economy, which cast a shadow over demand prospects. The International Monetary Fund revised its 2016 global economic growth forecast to 3.4% from 3.6% projected earlier. Market participants are also concerned about China's slowing economy, which could cut demand. Meanwhile Iran is preparing to raise exports and add to the existing oversupply issue.

Venezuela has requested an emergency OPEC meeting, however many experts believe that such a meeting was unlikely.

Gold is currently at $1,102.30 (-0.35%). The precious metal gave up some of its Wednesday gains, but stayed close to a one-and-a-half-week high. Investors turned to gold as stocks and oil prices continued to fall. The latest downward revision of the global economic growth forecast from the International Monetary Fund added to concerns over health of the global economy.

Expectations for the Federal Reserve to raise its interest rates in March declined after the US. Department of Labor reported weaker inflation in December. Nevertheless the central bank of the U.S. is still expected to continue raising interest rates. This limits gold's upward potential. The dollar, bullions major opponent, is likely to do well amid higher rates.

(raw materials / closing price /% change)

Oil $28.28 -4.78

Gold $1,101.00 -0.47