Oil prices are relatively stable after the Energy Information Administration reported an unexpected drop of oil reserves last week. Before the release of the data, oil prices rose. However, the Ministry of Energy also reported an increase in production in the United States for the second week in a row, and a slight decrease in refinery utilization.

Commercial US crude stocks last week fell by 6,200 thousand barrels -. to 504.598 million barrels, according to the weekly US Department of Energy report.

Commercial gasoline inventories decreased by 3204 thousand barrels and totaled 225.156 million barrels.

Commercial stocks of distillates rose to 2238 thousand barrels, reaching 164.992 million barrels.

Experts interviewed by Bloomberg, expected an increase in oil reserves by 3250 thousand barrels, a decline in gasoline inventories by 1,400 th. barrels and distillate stocks to increase by 200 thousand barrels.

The cost of the November futures for US light crude oil WTI (Light Sweet Crude Oil) rose to 45.49 dollars per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

November futures price for North Sea petroleum mix of Brent crude rose to 47.11 dollars a barrel on the London Stock Exchange ICE Futures Europe.

Gold prices rose to more than one-week high, as investors expect the Federal Reserve;s meeting outcome later in the session.

It is expected that at 18:00 GMT the Federal Reserve will leave unchanged its policy rate at the end of the two-day meeting.

After 30 minutes Chairman Janet Yellen will hold a long-awaited press conference. Investors will closely monitor any changes in the tone of the head of the Central Bank in relation to the economy and look for any hints on the timing of rate increases.

In the currency market, USD index, which tracks the greenback against a trade-weighted basket of six major rivals, is trading at 95.80, after rising to 96.29 earlier, the highest level since 9 August.

Against the yen, the dollar fell 1% to 100.57 after a session high of 102.78, due to views that the recent changes in the monetary policy of the Bank of Japan are not enough to stimulate the growth of inflation.

A strong US dollar, as a rule, is putting pressure on gold, as it reduces the metal's appeal as an alternative asset and increases the price of dollar-denominated commodities for holders of other currencies.

The cost of the October futures for gold on COMEX rose to $ 1329.2 per ounce.

U.S. commercial crude oil inventories (excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve) decreased by 6.2 million barrels from the previous week. At 504.6 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are at historically high levels for this time of year. Total motor gasoline inventories decreased by 3.2 million barrels last week, but are well above the upper limit of the average range. Both finished gasoline inventories and blending components inventories decreased last week. Distillate fuel inventories increased by 2.2 million barrels last week and are well above the upper limit of the average range for this time of year. Propane/propylene inventories rose 0.7 million barrels last week and are above the upper limit of the average range. Total commercial petroleum inventories decreased by 6.0 million barrels last week.

TYUMEN, September 21. / TASS /. Russia set a new record for average daily oil production in the country, on September 8, will exceed 11 million barrels. This was stated during the Tyumen Oil and Gas Innovation Forum by the Deputy Energy Minister.

"The Russian Federation reached on September 8 a historic high. We produced more than 11 million barrels" - he said.

Oil production is growing for several years in a row in Russia. In 2015 the average oil extracted was 10,726,000 barrels of oil and condensate per day. Total for the year was more than 534 million tons, which is 1.4% more than in the previous year.

According to Rosstat, in June 2016. Russian extracted 10.136 million barrels of oil per day.

This morning, New York crude oil futures for WTI rose 2.22% to $ 45.03 and Brent crude oil futures rose in price by 1.77% to $ 46.69 per barrel. Thus, the black gold is trading higher, amid the release of data on the reduction of inventories in the United States and the good performance of the Japanese imports. Data from the American Petroleum Institute showed that US crude stocks fell by 7.5 million barrels to 507.2 million, while analysts had expected a growth of oil reserves by 3.4 million barrels. Energy Information Administration will release official data on US inventories later on Wednesday and experts said they are also waiting for the outcome of the meeting of the US Federal Reserve Open Market Committee. Oil imports grew by 0.5% in Japan in August compared with the same period last year, reported the Ministry of Finance. Also Japan, the fourth-largest buyer of oil in the world, imported 3.38 million barrels per day last month, data showed.

(raw materials / closing price /% change)

Oil 44.43 +0.86%

Gold 1,318.00 -0.02%