Oil prices fell slightly, while heading to the lowest level in almost three weeks, which was associated with positive news on Libya.

Recall that the rebels in Libya yesterday unexpectedly announced today plans to open two oil terminal of Es Sider and Ras Lanuf in the east of the country, who have not worked since last summer. The rebels have called the move a "goodwill gesture" to the government. Rather, they are hoping that the government will also meet them in regard to demands for greater autonomy in the eastern regions of the country. If two terminals will resume operations, the supply of oil from Libya will grow by about 500 thousand barrels per day. According to the National Oil Corporation of Libya, oil production in the country at the moment are about 320 thousand barrels per day.

The course of trade also affected data on oil reserves in the United States. The weekly report of U.S. Department of Energy was said commercial U.S. crude inventories last week fell by 3,155 thousand barrels - up to 384,935 million barrels. Gasoline inventories fell by 1,235 thousand barrels and reached 213,742 million barrels. Commercial distillate stocks rose by 975 thousand barrels, reaching 121,541 million barrels. Experts expected a decrease of oil reserves by 2400 thousand barrels, gasoline inventories increase by 550 thousand barrels and distillate stocks increase by 950 thousand barrels.

Recall that yesterday presented the American Petroleum Institute (API) report showed: commercial crude oil inventories in the United States during the reporting week changed insignificantly, down by 875 thousand barrels per day. While gasoline stocks in the United States decreased by 410 thousand barrels per day. However distillate stocks rose 4.4 million barrels. Congestion refinery in the U.S., meanwhile, rose to 89.9% against 88.6% the previous week

Market participants are also waiting for the monthly federal employment report, which is expected to show that the economy added 211,000 in June, new jobs. The data will be released one day earlier than usual, in connection with the celebration of U.S. Independence Day on Friday, July 4.

Cost of the August futures on U.S. light crude oil WTI (Light Sweet Crude Oil) fell to $ 105.33 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX).

August futures price for North Sea Brent crude oil mixture fell 40 cents to $ 111.68 a barrel on the London exchange ICE Futures Europe.

Gold prices rose slightly, being at the same time near three-month high, which was associated with an increase in reserve funds and expectations of key data on the U.S. labor market.

"Large injections into the fund for two consecutive days support prices. This is a good sign, because the physical demand in Asia is weak because of higher prices. Their further growth seems increasingly likely, given the unrelenting tension in Iraq and Ukraine ", - said a trader in Hong Kong.

As it became known, the world's largest reserves secured gold exchange-traded fund SPDR Gold Trust on Tuesday rose by 5.69 tonnes to 796.39 tonnes. Due to the size of the fund can be considered as an indicator of market sentiment.

Market participants are also watching the situation in Ukraine, where troops continue an offensive against militias in the east. Regarding the situation in Iraq, Sunnis and Kurds left the first session of the new parliament after the Shiites could not find a replacement for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, thus reducing the probability of there quickly create a unity government that would have saved the country from a split.

It is worth noting that traders expect the employment report in the U.S., which will be published on Thursday and will assess the state of the world's largest economy. The data will be released one day earlier than usual, in connection with the celebration of U.S. Independence Day on Friday, July 4. Also tomorrow, will be announced the results of the European Central Bank, which should give a clue about the future strategy of monetary stimulus

Pressure on gold today have data from ADP, which showed that private sector employment in the U.S. increased by 281,000 jobs in June. Economists had expected ADP report on growth in June, only 206,000. Increasing employment in May from ADP was unchanged at 179,000. Evaluation precedes ADP report on the situation on the labor statistics from the Employment Bureau. Economists expect that off-farm employment increased by 211,000 in June, compared with 217 000 in May. The unemployment rate in June is expected at 6.3%.

Market participants are also preparing for the performance Fed chief Janet Yellen at the International Monetary Fund, to hear further hints on the future course of monetary policy. Following her comments follow a conversation with the director of the IMF, Christine Lagarde.

The cost of the August gold futures on the COMEX today rose to $ 1330.9 per ounce.

(raw materials / closing price /% change)

Gold $1,327.66 +0.33 +0.02%

Oil $105.31 -0.06 -0.06%