Oil prices rose slightly today, rising at the same time above $ 109 per barrel, after data showed that the volume of oil exports from Libya has fallen to its lowest level in two years, increasing concerns about the previously planned production cuts by other members.

The reason for the increase in oil prices were the reports that Libya was unable to start the largest oil terminals. On Monday, the authorities attempted to run the terminals of Es Sider and Ras Lanuf, which had been closed due to strikes from the end of July. Export capacity of the terminals in the aggregate of 600 thousand barrels per day - 43% of all oil produced in the country. Oil and Gas Minister of Libya Abdel al-Bari Arussi tried to reassure investors, vowing that exports could resume on Thursday as workers agreed with the local authorities to end the strike.

Experts note that the unstable geopolitical climate in the region to support prices at the beginning of the fourth quarter. But traders will try to avoid over-reacting to any news because the uncertainty has become the norm for the region.

Note also that the effect of decreasing the supply of Libyan oil increased reports of disruptions to oil production in Norway. The failure of the compressor oil platform Ula has led to a decline in oil production on the Norwegian Ekofisk field in the North Sea. The volume of oil on the platform is 10 thousand barrels per day.

In addition, the dynamics of trade expectations affect the publication of data on oil reserves. According to the median forecast of analysts, U.S. crude inventories fell by 1.55 million barrels last week.

The cost of the September futures on U.S. light crude oil WTI (Light Sweet Crude Oil) rose to 106.17 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

September futures price for North Sea Brent crude oil mixture rose to $ 109.60 a barrel on the London exchange ICE Futures Europe.

Gold prices fell markedly today, which was due to the strengthening of the dollar and the news that the Indian federal government raised import duties on petroleum products, gold bars for the third time in the last eight months to 10% from 8%, and for silver to 10 % to 6%.

We also add that earlier gold managed to reduce some of the losses after a report on U.S. retail sales was below consensus expectations, but after the event has faded into the background, prices continued to decline.

It should be noted that the published data showed that consumer spending in the U.S. rose slightly in July, a sign that the economy remains weak after the spring period. In the U.S. Commerce Department reported that retail sales and food sales in July rose 0.2% from 0.6% in June, because of the slowing car purchases, furniture and electronics. Economists had forecast a sales increase of 0.3% compared to the previous month.

Add that to an annual basis, retail sales rose by 5.4%, as consumers increased spending on food, clothing and sporting goods. Sales rose at the fastest pace in more than a year. Excluding auto sales, total sales rose in July by 0.5% on a monthly basis. But the slow growth in total sales shows that households are still constrained by high unemployment, high taxes, which came into force in January

Traders also report that the current dynamics of the gold market is related to the low volume of trading, which is inherent in the summer holidays. Note that many market participants are focused on economic data from the U.S., as they can help to assess the possible actions of the Federal Reserve System in respect of reduction in monthly purchases of bonds. Recall that gold prices have fallen by about 20% this year on expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut their economic stimulus program.

The cost of the October gold futures on COMEX today dropped to $ 1325.10 per ounce