(raw materials / closing price /% change)

Light Crude 66.75 -0.09%

Gold 1,205.10 -0.22%

Oil prices declined moderately today, which was associated with the decision of Saudi Arabia to reduce selling prices for Asian and American buyers, a week after the refusal to support the production cuts by OPEC.

Today oil company Saudi Aramco said that the official selling price of all grades of oil supplied to Asia in January, will be reduced by 1.5-1.9 per barrel compared to the December prices. Prices for all grades of oil supplied to the United States, were also reduced by 10-90 cents per barrel. Prices for all grades of oil supplied to the North-West Europe and the Mediterranean, were increased by 20-50 cents per barrel compared to the prices of December.

Experts Wall Street Journal, citing its sources, said that Saudi Arabia is not going to cut oil production and is regarded as acceptable for the price of a barrel of Brent yourself $ 60. "The largest oil producer in OPEC - Saudi Arabia said that oil prices can be stabilized in the area of 60 dollars per barrel. Riyadh and other Gulf countries are confident that they can sustain this price level "- the newspaper writes. According to sources, the newspaper, the current approach of Saudi Arabia, which occupies a key position in OPEC, means that in the short term it will not go on the decline in production, even if oil prices continue to fall.

It should also be emphasized that the decision of OPEC to cut production has led many experts to reduce oil price forecasts. Average forecast of 31 analysts and economists to Reuters Brent crude was down $ 11.20, compared with the November forecast to $ 82.50 per barrel in 2015. The forecast for 2016 was $ 87.40, and since the beginning of this year, the average price of Brent - $ 102,70 per barrel. The forecast average WTI price in 2015 decreased by $ 10 compared to the October survey, up to $ 78 per barrel. Since the beginning of this year, the average price of WTI was $ 96. "OPEC's decision to maintain production means excess oil. At the current level of production of OPEC market 1.5-2.0 million b / d of excess oil, "- said the strategist BNP Paribas Gareth Davies.

The course of trading and continues to influence the last report from the US Energy Information Administration. Recall zpasy US crude fell by 3.7 million barrels last week, with growth forecast at 1.3 million barrels. Inventories in Cushing, Oklahoma, fell by 694,000 barrels.

Cost of January futures for US light crude oil WTI (Light Sweet Crude Oil) dropped to 66.32 dollars per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

January futures price for North Sea Brent crude oil mix fell $ 0.64, to $ 69.35 a barrel on the London Stock Exchange ICE Futures Europe.

Gold prices retreated from a session low, thus returning to the levels of the opening, which was associated with the recovery of the euro against the dollar after the statements of the ECB.

After the ECB's decision to keep rates at previous levels Draghi said that the ECB is ready to take additional measures, if necessary, but did not make any specific announcements. He also added that the ECB lowered its forecasts for inflation and the economy. Bank revised GDP forecast for 2015 and 2016 to 1.0% and 1.5% against the September estimates 1.6% and 1.9%, respectively. With regard to inflation, experts believe that in 2015 HICP index will rise by 0.7% and in 2016 - 1.3%.

The head of the ECB said that the central bank will be particularly vigilant, tracking the dynamics of oil prices. Draghi noted that structural reforms in the euro area can stimulate the economy, and the pace of reforms on the labor market needs to be accelerated. Meanwhile, he added that in the coming months has already launched measures will make the current rate even more accommodative, support the policy of transparency with regard to the main interest rates and once again confirm the fact that there is a significant difference between the monetary policy of the largest developed economies.

Had little effect as today's data on the US labor market. As it became known, initial applications for unemployment benefits fell by 17,000 and amounted to a seasonally adjusted 297,000 in the week ended November 29th. The result coincided with the expectations of economists. Data on applications for unemployment benefits are unstable and tend to fluctuate from week to week. Moving average for four weeks, which smooths the data increased by 4750 to 299 000. The report also showed that the number of people who continued to receive unemployment benefits rose by 39,000 to 2.36 million in the week ended Nov. 22.

Investors are also expected to release a report on non-farm payrolls to obtain additional evidence of strength recovery in the labor market. Economists forecast that employers added 225,000 new jobs, and the unemployment rate will be 5.8%. Strong employment data are likely to increase speculation about when the Fed will raise interest rates, while the weak performance could support gold, undermining the basis for an early rate hike. Recall expectations of growth rates on loans put pressure on gold as a precious metal with difficulty competing with the yield on interest bearing assets at higher rates.

It is worth emphasizing that many traders explain the recent rise in gold prices including cover short positions and are not sure of continued growth. "Much of the shopping recently been associated with the liquidation of short positions, rather than opening or extension of long," - says the report HSBC.

Cost of January futures for gold on the COMEX today rose by $ 1.1 to 1209.60 dollars per ounce.

Oil prices are trading steady today. Brent Crude gained +0.01% trading at USD69.93 a barrel, and West Texas Intermediate lost -0.10% currently quoted at USD67.31 after an unexpected drop in U.S. inventories. After OPEC's decision to leave outputs rates at 30 million barrels a day despite a 40% drop in oil prices over 5 months the markets remain volatile. Markets await the outcome of today's ECB meeting in Frankfurt and important U.S. data on initial jobless claims and the unemployment rate in Friday to get an indication on further stimulus in the Eurozone and when the FED will raise interest rates.

Gold retreated at USD1,203.90 a troy ounce just above the important level of USD1,200 weighed by a strong U.S. dollar trading above a five-year high against the single currency and ahead of the ECB meeting taking place in Frankfurt that may give further hints regarding the timing of the stimulus program. Markets are also looking ahead to the release of U.S. Nonfarm Payrolls and Unemployment Rate later in the week on Friday and U.S. initial jobless claims scheduled for today at 13:30 GMT. A stronger U.S. dollar and a raise in U.S. interest rates as a consequence of economic growth in the U.S. weigh on the precious metal as it only offers returns through price increases and gold becomes more expensive to buy for holders of other currencies.

GOLD currently trading at USD1,203.90

(raw materials / closing price /% change)

Light Crude 67.39 +0.01%

Gold 1,209.20 +0.04%