West Texas Intermediate crude fell for a second day amid speculation that the Federal Reserve will reduce stimulus measures next month, curbing investors’ appetite for commodities.

Futures slid as much as 1.8 percent. Minutes from the Fed’s July meeting, scheduled to be published tomorrow, will probably provide details about deliberations on when to taper $85 billion in monthly bond buying. Government data tomorrow may show that U.S. crude inventories shrank to the lowest level since September, a Bloomberg survey said.

Libya opened the oil ports of Brega and Hariga today, according to Oil and Gas Workers Union. Es Sider and Ras Lanuf ports remained closed.

Es Sider, the largest Libyan oil terminal with a capacity of 350,000 barrels of day, has been shut since July 28 because of the petroleum guard protest. State-run National Oil Corp. halted exports of crude and refined products from the Es Sider, Ras Lanuf, Zueitina and Brega terminals, according to a document obtained by Bloomberg.

The country produced 800,000 barrels a day last month, half the rate pumped a year earlier, according to a Bloomberg survey of output from the 12-member Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Libya holds Africa’s largest oil reserves.

WTI for September delivery dropped 88 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $106.22 a barrel at 11:05 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It slipped 0.3 percent yesterday, snapping a six-day rally that was the longest since April 25.

The September contract expires at the close of floor trading today. The more-active October contract decreased 70 cents to $106.16. Trading volume was about 7.1 percent below the 100-day average, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Brent for October settlement slid 26 cents to $109.64 on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. Volume was 16 percent below 100-day average. Brent’s premium over WTI widened for the first time in three days to $3.48.

The value of gold is increasing on weaker dollar ahead of the publication of minutes of the last meeting of the Federal Open Market Federal Reserve. Investors expect that the protocols will clarify the situation with a program of bond purchases.

In addition, the pressure on the U.S. dollar index was weaker than the national activity Chicago Fed, which destroys the hopes of positive GDP data for the 2nd quarter, which will be published next week. National Activity Index Chicago Fed in July rose to -0.15 from -0.23 in June, while the less volatile moving average index for the three months increased to -0.15 from -0.24. July was the fifth month in a row that the index itself and its moving average are in negative territory, indicating growth below trend.

The cost of the October gold futures on COMEX today rose to $ 1377.20 per ounce.

Change % Change Last

GOLD 1,367.50 -4.20 -0.31%

OIL (WTI) 107.00 -0.46 -0.43%