Oil prices increased despite a rise in U.S. crude oil inventories. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its crude oil inventories data on Wednesday. U.S. crude inventories increased by 3.96 million barrels to 457.9 million in the week to September 25.

Analysts had expected U.S. crude oil inventories to remain unchanged.

Gasoline inventories increased by 3.3 million barrels, according to the EIA.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, declined by 1.068 million barrels.

U.S. crude oil imports climbed by 329,000 barrels per day.

Refineries in the U.S. were running at 89.8% of capacity, up from 90.9% the previous week.

Earlier, oil prices rose after Russia started air strikes against Islamic State targets in Syria.

WTI crude oil for November delivery rose to $45.85 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent crude oil for November climbed to $48.24 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe.

Gold price fell on the better-than-expected ADP Employment Report from the U.S. Private sector in the U.S. added 200,000 jobs in September, according the ADP report on Wednesday. August's figure was revised down to 186,000 jobs from a previous reading of 190,000 jobs.

Analysts expected the private sector to add 194,000 jobs.

Services sector added 188,000 jobs in September, while manufacturing sector lost 15,000.

"The U.S. job machine continues to produce jobs at a strong and consistent pace. Despite job losses in the energy and manufacturing industries, the economy is creating close to 200,000 jobs per month. At this pace full employment is fast approaching," the Chief Economist of Moody's Analytics Mark Zandi said.

Official labour market data will be released on Friday. Analysts expect that U.S. unemployment rate is expected to remain unchanged at 5.1% in September. The U.S. economy is expected to add 202,000 jobs in September, after adding 173,000 jobs in August.

Gold is traded in U.S. dollars. It suffers when the U.S. dollar strengthens, becoming more expensive for holders of other currencies.

October futures for gold on the COMEX today declined to 1112.10 dollars per ounce.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its crude oil inventories data on Wednesday. U.S. crude inventories increased by 3.96 million barrels to 457.9 million in the week to September 25.

Analysts had expected U.S. crude oil inventories to remain unchanged.

Gasoline inventories increased by 3.3 million barrels, according to the EIA.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, declined by 1.068 million barrels.

U.S. crude oil imports climbed by 329,000 barrels per day.

Refineries in the U.S. were running at 89.8% of capacity, up from 90.9% the previous week.

Private sector in the U.S. added 200,000 jobs in September, according the ADP report on Wednesday. August's figure was revised down to 186,000 jobs from a previous reading of 190,000 jobs.

Analysts expected the private sector to add 194,000 jobs.

Services sector added 188,000 jobs in September, while manufacturing sector lost 15,000.

"The U.S. job machine continues to produce jobs at a strong and consistent pace. Despite job losses in the energy and manufacturing industries, the economy is creating close to 200,000 jobs per month. At this pace full employment is fast approaching," the Chief Economist of Moody's Analytics Mark Zandi said.

Official labour market data will be released on Friday. Analysts expect that U.S. unemployment rate is expected to remain unchanged at 5.1% in September. The U.S. economy is expected to add 202,000 jobs in September, after adding 173,000 jobs in August.

China's gold reserves rose 1% in August. According to the central bank's data, gold holding increased to 54.45 million troy ounces in August from 53.93 million ounces in July. The central bank wants to diversify its foreign exchange reserves.

China's gold reserves climbed 57% since 2009. The country overtook Russia as the fifth-largest holder.

According to World Gold Council data, China holds only about 1.6% of its foreign reserves in gold, compared with 73% for the U.S.

West Texas Intermediate futures for November delivery fell to $44.94 (-0.64%), while Brent crude declined to $48.03 (-0.41%) after figures from the American Petroleum Institute showed a 4.6 million barrel increase in U.S. crude inventories. The official Energy Information Administration data will be released later today. Oil prices are likely to trade in a narrow range until the report is released.

Market participants are also waiting for tomorrow's report on China's September Manufacturing PMI. China is the second-biggest consumer of oil in the world.

Gold slid to $1,126.10 (-0.06%) after a report showed that U.S. consumer confidence rose in September. Confidence is not yet spending, but many analysts take it for a sign of improvements in the U.S. economy, which suggests that the Federal Reserve can actually raise rates by the end of this year. The consumer confidence index rose to 103.0 in September from 101.5 in August (revised from 101.3), while economists had expected a reading of 96.1 points. 25.1% of respondents said that there were enough jobs (vs 22.1% in the previous month).

Official data by the People's Bank of China showed that China's gold reserves rose to 54.45m troy oz in August from 53.93m oz in July.

(raw materials / closing price /% change)

Oil 44.87 -0.80%

Gold 1,127.40 +0.05%