West Texas Intermediate crude traded near the lowest level in two-days before the rlease of a government report, which is forecast to show U.S. stockpiles increased. Futures fluctuated in New York after snapping a three-day gain yesterday. U.S. crude inventories probably advanced by 550,000 barrels last week. Fuel supplies also gained. The industry-funded American Petroleum Institute is scheduled to release separate stockpile data tomorrow. WTI for July delivery was at $95.87 a barrel, up 10 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, The volume of all futures traded was 90 percent below the 100-day average. The contract fell 26 cents to $95.77 yesterday, the lowest settlement since June 6.
GOLD
Gold futures rose from the lowest in almost two weeks on bets that demand as a store of value will increase in Asia, the world’s top consumer. China approved two domestic exchange-traded products backed by the metal, and Deutsche Bank AG started a gold-storage facility in Singapore with a 200 metric ton capacity, its largest vault outside London. People expect physical demand to remain strong at current levels. Gold futures for August delivery rose 0.2 percent to settle at $1,386 an ounce, Earlier, the price touched $1,375.10, the lowest for a most-active contract since May 28. Trading was 43 percent below average in the past 100 days for this time. Last week, Newcrest Mining Ltd., Australia’s largest gold producer, said it will write down the value of its assets by as much as $6 billion ($5.7 billion) after the price slump.