(raw materials / closing price /% change)

Light Crude 93.25 +0.40%

Gold 1,266.50 +0.12%

West Texas Intermediate crude retreated for the first time in five days amid speculation that the end of the peak driving season and start of refinery maintenance will curb demand.

WTI fell as much as 1.5 percent as gasoline futures reached the lowest level for a front-month contract since November. The main driving season in the U.S. typically runs through Labor Day and refineries slow operations during scheduled maintenance that peaks in September and October.

"It's the typical post-holiday selloff," said Stephen Schork, president of the Schork Group Inc. in Villanova, Pennsylvania. "We are going into refinery turnaround pretty soon. All that bullish exuberance has been exorcised out of the market right now."

WTI for October delivery declined $1.25, or 1.3 percent, to $94.71 a barrel at 10:30 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The volume of all the futures was 27 percent above the 100-day average. Floor trading was closed yesterday for the Labor Day holiday and electronic trading will be booked for settlement purposes today.

Brent for October settlement dropped $1.03, or 1 percent, to $101.76 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The European benchmark crude traded at a premium of $7.11 to WTI on the ICE, compared with a close of $7.23 on Aug. 29.

Gold prices continue to decline, falls to more than two-month low as the dollar weakened markedly got stronger investor demand for the precious metal.

Index USD, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, peaked at 83.02 on Tuesday, the strongest level since July 2013.

The Euro is trading at an annual low against the dollar amid rising expectations that the ECB will implement new mitigation measures to strengthen the long-term inflation expectations in the euro area.

Fears that sanctions against Russia will act as resistance to economic growth in the euro zone also continue to put pressure on the single currency.

The dollar rose to a seven-month high against the yen and the ten-month highs against the Swiss franc, with the support of the weak euro.

Got stronger dollar shifted the demand for gold-seekers resulting from heightened tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

A report published today by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), revealed in August manufacturing activity in the United States improved, beating the forecasts of economists who had expected a slight decrease in the index. PMI index for the industrial sphere of the United States rose in August to 59.0 against 57.1 in July. A reading above 50 indicates expansion of industrial activity. Note that the latter value was higher than the estimates of experts - is expected to decrease to 57.0.

On Friday, investors expect the release of American employment data, as they may provide further understanding of the strength of the recovery in the labor market, which is a key factor in deciding on the future path of monetary policy.

The cost of the October gold futures on the COMEX today dropped to $ 1262.50 per ounce.