West Texas Intermediate dropped a second day as Libya’s oil production rebounded and the threat of military strikes against Syria receded, damping concern that Middle East supplies may be disrupted.

Futures fell as much as 1 percent and are headed for a second weekly decline. Libyan output yesterday was more than five times higher than earlier this month, according to its oil ministry. Syria will provide information about its chemical weapons and open facilities to inspectors, President Bashar al-Assad said Sept. 18 in an interview with Fox News.

Libyan oil output is set to increase to 800,000 barrels a day, Ibrahim Al Awami, director of measurement at the oil ministry, said by phone from Tripoli yesterday. Supply fell to as low as 150,000 barrels earlier this month, compared with a 2013 high of 1.4 million in April, the International Energy Agency said in a Sept. 12 report.

Oil prices will drop further next week after a U.S.-Russian accord reduced the risk of an American attack on Syria.

WTI crude for October delivery, which expires today, fell 69 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $105.70 a barrel at 11:21 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices are down 2.3 percent this week. The more-actively traded November contract dropped 47 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $105.39. The volume of all futures traded was about 19 percent below the 100-day average.

Brent oil for November settlement rose 46 cents, 0.4 percent, to $109.22 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. Futures are down 3.2 percent this week. Volume was 24 percent lower than the 100-day average. The European benchmark traded at a $3.99 premium to WTI, up from $2.90 at yesterday’s close.

Gold prices decline after the previous two sessions grew by more than 5% after the Fed's decision to maintain the program of bond purchases in the existing volumes.

As a result of bond purchases is pumping liquidity of the financial system , which increases the risk of accelerating inflation and tends to weaken the dollar. Some investors view gold as a hedge against the risk of both of these scenarios.

Gold prices were under pressure for most of this year , while investors believed that the Fed may soon shut down its bond buying program . As of the close of trading on the COMEX on Wednesday , gold futures fell by 22 % since the beginning of 2013.

According to investors and analysts, the Fed's decision is likely to mean that observed in this year's fall in gold prices will pause as market participants revise their inflation forecasts .

Although Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said Wednesday that for the reduction of asset purchases "there is no fixed calendar," it is expected that the central bank in the next 12 months will begin to phase out its program to purchase bonds worth 85 billion dollars a month. When this happens , gold prices are likely to decline , analysts say.

The cost of the October gold futures on COMEX today dropped to $ 1332.00 per ounce.

GOLD 1,365.50 57.80 4.42%

OIL (WTI) 106.21 -1.86 -1.72%