Oil prices rose on news that top oil producer plan to lower their oil output. Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said in St. Petersburg on Thursday that Saudi Arabia proposed to reduce oil production by around 5%.

Later, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) delegates said that there were no plans to discuss the oil output cut.

WTI crude oil for March delivery rose to $33.31 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent crude oil for March increased to $33.90 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe.

Gold price declined on profit taking after yesterday's rise. Gold increased on Wednesday after the release of the Fed's interest rate decision. The Fed kept its interest rate unchanged at 0.25% - 0.50% as widely expected by analysts. But the Fed noted that it was "closely monitoring global economic and financial developments and is assessing their implications for the labour market and inflation, and for the balance of risks to the outlook". Market participants speculate that the Fed could delay its further interest rate hikes.

Market participants also eyed today's U.S. economic data. The U.S. Labor Department released its jobless claims figures on Thursday. The number of initial jobless claims in the week ending January 23 in the U.S. dropped by 16,000 to 278,000 from 294,000 in the previous week. Analysts had expected jobless claims to fall to 282,000.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) released its pending home sales figures for the U.S. on Thursday. Pending home sales in the U.S. rose 0.1% in December, missing expectations for a 0.8% gain, after a 1.1% drop in November. The increase was mainly lead by a rise the Northeast.

February futures for gold on the COMEX today fell to 1115.70 dollars per ounce.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) delegates said on Thursday that there were no plans to discuss the oil output cut.

Earlier on Thursday, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said in St. Petersburg that Saudi Arabia proposed to reduce oil production by around 5%.

The People's Bank of China (PBoC) on Thursday injected 340 billion yuan ($52 billion) into market to boost liquidity via seven-day reverse repos and 28-day reverse repos.

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

The U.S. Labor Department released its jobless claims figures on Thursday. The number of initial jobless claims in the week ending January 23 in the U.S. dropped by 16,000 to 278,000 from 294,000 in the previous week. The previous week's figure was revised down from 293,000.

Analysts had expected jobless claims to fall to 282,000.

Jobless claims remained below 300,000 the 47th straight week. This threshold is associated with the strengthening of the labour market.

Continuing jobless claims rose by 49,000 to 2,268,000 in the week ended January 16.

The Fed released its interest rate decision on Wednesday. The Fed kept its interest rate unchanged at 0.25% - 0.50%. This decision was widely expected by analysts.

The Fed said that the U.S. economy is expected to continue to expand moderately, while the U.S. labour market is expected to continue to strengthen. But the Fed noted that it was "closely monitoring global economic and financial developments and is assessing their implications for the labour market and inflation, and for the balance of risks to the outlook".

The Fed also said that inflation is expected to remain at low levels due to a further drop in energy prices.

The Fed raised its interest rate to the range 0.25% - 0.50% from 0.00% - 0.25% in December.

Reuters reported on Wednesday that Iraqi Finance Minister Hoshyar Zebari said the country is ready its oil output if other oil producer will also lower their oil production.

"Iraq is a founding member of OPEC, so we will definitely take part, and the idea would be to reduce production actually to impact the oil price," he said.

West Texas Intermediate futures for March delivery declined to $31.94 (-1.11%), while Brent crude retreated to $32.86 (-0.73%) after rising almost 3% in the previous session. Yesterday Russian officials said that they need to talk to OPEC members in order to find a way to counter the supply glut issue.

The dollar weakened amid Fed's dovish statement and did not allow oil prices to decline further.

The Energy Information Administration reported on Wednesday that U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 8.4 million barrels last week. However this huge increase was still smaller than the 11.4 million buildup forecasted by the American Petroleum Institute. Stocks likely rose amid the anticipation of snow storms.

Gold is currently at $1,120.70 (+0.44%). Prices slid amid profit-taking after yesterday's gains, which were generated by the dovish tone of the Fed's statement. The Federal Reserve admitted that economic growth slowed. However the central bank indicated that interest rates could still be raised in March.

Physical demand supported gold as consumers in China prepared for the Lunar New Year celebrations.

(raw materials / closing price /% change)

Oil 32.16 -0.43%

Gold 1,124.90 +0.82%