Gold $1,311.4 +0.20 +0.02%

ICE Brent Crude Oil $106.99 +0.39 +0.39%

NYMEX Crude Oil $99.2 -0.39 -0.39%

Oil prices rose slightly , due to concerns about further decline in production in Libya and hopes for economic stimulus measures in China.

Today, the National Oil Corporation said that oil production in Libya on Tuesday will decrease by 80,000 bpd to 150,000 bpd due to stop production at the field El Feel, due to the overlapping of the pipeline leading to the port of Melita .

"The situation in Libya to the extraction worse and worse, not including offshore oil and gas production has almost stopped ," - said analyst Olivier Jakob Petromatrix .

Hopes that China , the second largest oil consumer in the world, will act to support the economy by supporting prices. Stronger Chinese growth is likely to increase demand for oil and other commodities such as copper.

On the price of oil also affect the outcome of the meeting of leaders of the "Big Seven" , where it was decided to suspend cooperation with Russia in the G8 . Russian leaders also threatened sanctions against a number of sectors in the case of a further escalation of tensions in the Ukraine.

"Currently, the growth of the oil market is still worth geopolitics, mainly related events with Ukraine. Changes in the balance of supply and demand seem to have not such a strong impact on the market . Incoming news reinforce concerns about the fact that the crisis between the West and Russia may increase " , - said Saxo Bank strategist Ole Hansen .

We also add that investors expect the weekly U.S. inventory data to gauge the strength of oil demand from the largest consumer in the world.

Recall that today the American Petroleum Institute will release its report on stocks , while a government report , scheduled for Wednesday may show that oil stocks rose 2.5 million barrels in the week ended March 21. Data are also expected to show that stocks of distillates , including heating oil and diesel, fell by 1.1 million barrels , while gasoline stocks are projected to have declined by 1.7 million barrels.

May futures for U.S. light crude oil WTI (Light Sweet Crude Oil) rose to $ 100.07 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX).

May futures price for North Sea Brent crude oil mixture rose $ 0.72 to $ 107.21 a barrel on the London exchange ICE Futures Europe.

Gold prices fell sharply today, but standby output of key U.S. economic data led to recover to a session high . Also the cost increased due to short covering and increase reserves backed by gold exchange-traded funds .

"Support is provided growth stocks ETF, it is one of the main reasons to stabilize prices this year. Covering short positions at the beginning of the year , gold's appeal in developing countries as a reliable investment and crisis in Ukraine also support prices," - said the director of Societe analysis of commodity markets Generale Mark Keenan . " But these factors are short-lived . Macroeconomic background is still unfavorable for gold. Since the price could not go above $ 1,400 , the market returned to sales and a decrease in quotations " - added Keenan .

As for U.S. data , they showed that sales of newly built homes fell 3.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 440,000 compared with the previous month. Strong growth in January was revised downward to an annual rate of 455,000 . February sales were lower than expected by economists and 447,000 were at the lowest level since September.

Another report showed that consumer confidence index has improved markedly in March , while offsetting the decline in February . The index now stands at 82.3 points, compared with 78.3 points in February . Present situation index , meanwhile, fell to 80.4 points from 81.0 points, while the expectations index rose to 83.5 from 76.5 .

Recall that gold is under heavy selling pressure in recent sessions , as market participants and institutional investors have reduced long positions on expectations that the Fed may raise interest rates earlier than previously thought . Fed Chairman Janet Yellen said last week that the bank may start to raise interest rates after approximately 6 months after the QE program is completed, which is expected to happen this fall.

Meanwhile, it was reported that the world's largest reserves secured gold exchange-traded fund SPDR Gold Trust on Monday rose by 0.55 percent to 821.47 tons, and in terms of ounces of reserves peaked in December .

We also add that the physical market dealers point decline in demand from jewelers and individual investors , and the ">The cost of the April gold futures on the COMEX today rose to $ 1312.30 per ounce.