The cost of oil futures declined substantially, falling at the same time below $ 104 per barrel, which was due to fears that the U.S. Federal Reserve may curtail its program of quantitative easing. Note that the comments by the Fed and upbeat U.S. data, which were presented last week, increasing the likelihood that the central bank may begin to reduce the purchase of bonds later this year. It is also worth adding that many investors are focusing on the release of minutes of the last Fed meeting and speech by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, scheduled on Wednesday.

Analysts expect U.S. crude stocks last week, have not changed, and the Refinery utilization fell. Gasoline stocks are expected on average, declined by 100,000 barrels.

Distillate stocks, which include diesel and heating oil, as the average forecast down 300,000 barrels. Congestion of refining capacity in the U.S. last week, according to the median estimate, down 0.2 percentage points to 87.8%.

Note also that part of the price of oil supports the tense situation in the Middle East, which has raised concerns about the security of supply of the largest producers in the region.

The cost of the June futures on U.S. light crude oil WTI (Light Sweet Crude Oil) fell to 95.80 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

June futures price for North Sea Brent crude oil mixture fell $ 0.82 to $ 103.92 a barrel on the London exchange ICE Futures Europe.

Gold prices declined, which was the seventh in the last eight Palen sessions on weak technical signals and speculation that the U.S. Federal Reserve may curb their incentive program. Note that since the beginning of the year gold has suffered greatly from the shift in investments in high-yield sign of improvement in the world economy, especially in the United States. We also recall that yesterday the price of the precious metal fell to $ 1,338.95, the lowest level since April 16.

Economists note that the dynamics of the trade also influenced by the fact that many investors' attention is directed to the speech from Fed Chairman Bernanke in Congress, as well as the publication of the minutes of the Federal Reserve. Recall that on Monday, Federal Reserve Chairman Charles Evans said the central bank may continue to buy bonds during the summer, but in the fall to complete, if the central bank will see a marked improvement in the labor market. Note that the tightening of monetary policy in the U.S. will strengthen the dollar, which in turn will make the precious metal more expensive for holders of other currencies.

In addition, the data presented today showed that inventories in the SPDR Gold Trust continued to decline on Monday, down to the level of 1,031.50 tonnes - their lowest level in more than four years.

The cost of the June gold futures on COMEX today dropped to 1365.60 dollars an ounce.

Change % Change Last

GOLD 1,392.80 28.10 2.06%

OIL (WTI) 96.71 0.69 0.72%