Analytics, News, and Forecasts for CFD Markets: raw news — 14-04-2014.

Brent crude advanced to a two-week high as tensions escalated between Ukraine and Russia, the world’s biggest energy exporter. West Texas Intermediate moved between gains and losses.

Futures rose as much as 1 percent in London. Russia called for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council after Ukrainian security forces clashed with pro-Russian gunmen in the eastern town of Slovyansk. European officials weighed expanding sanctions against Russia over Ukraine, where they say the government in Moscow is stoking deadly separatist unrest with the same methods it used to destabilize and annex Crimea.

“The situation in Ukraine deteriorated significantly over the weekend, which explains the strength in Brent,” said Bob Yawger, director of the futures division at Mizuho Securities USA Inc. in New York. “The upsurge in unrest justifies trading at these levels.”

Brent for May settlement increased 71 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $108.04 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange at 10:32 a.m. in New York. It earlier touched $108.38, the highest intraday level since March 28. The volume of all futures traded was 23 percent above the 100-day average.

WTI for May delivery gained 13 cents to $103.87 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Volume was 73 percent above the 100-day average.

Gold prices rise on increasing investor interest in safe assets due to tensions over Ukraine.

At the weekend in eastern Ukraine escalated the situation after the announcement of the Kiev authorities to start a large-scale security operation involving the Ukrainian Armed Forces in connection with the seizure by gunmen administrative back in several cities of Donetsk region.

" Tensions between Russia and the West over Ukraine support the price of gold ," - said ABN Amro strategist Georgette Boel .

In this case an additional factor supporting gold prices , Boel calls expectations that U.S. interest rates will remain low for an extended period of time.

Support prices for precious metals had a report on U.S. retail sales . Data from the Ministry of Commerce showed that consumer spending in the U.S. has improved markedly in March , which is an early sign of the acceleration of economic growth in the spring of this year.

According to the report , the seasonally adjusted March retail sales rose by 1.1 % - to $ 433.9 billion last increase was the highest since September 2012 , and the total volume exceeded levels seen in November. Add that many experts predicted increased sales by 0.8%. The February figure sales was revised upward to 0.7 % from 0.3 %.

The cost of the June gold futures on the COMEX today rose to $ 1331.40 per ounce.