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Brent crude oil rose to the highest since the start of March and West Texas Intermediate to an eight-month high as violence escalated in Iraq, the second-largest producer in OPEC.

Brent rose as much as 2.2 percent to $112.34 a barrel. WTI, the U.S. benchmark, advanced 2 percent. Militants linked to al-Qaeda extended control over Iraq’s second-biggest city and battled for energy infrastructure, including the nation’s largest refinery. U.S. planes may bomb northern Iraq, Oil Minister Abdul Kareem al-Luaibi said today in Vienna.

“The Iraq development is the main driver for oil prices today and increases nervousness over the security of supply from the country,” Carsten Fritsch, an analyst at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt, said by phone today. The possibility of U.S. intervention in Iraq “is another sign of how desperate the situation is and how weak the government has become.”

Brent for July settlement rose by as much as $2.39 and was at $112.09 a barrel at 1:57 p.m. on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The contract expires tomorrow. The European benchmark crude traded at a premium of $5.79 to WTI. The spread widened yesterday for the first time in four days to close at $5.55.

WTI for July delivery climbed as much as $2.13 to $106.53 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. WTI traded as high as $108.99 on Sept. 19. The volume of all futures traded was about 206 percent above the 100-day average. Prices have increased 8 percent this year.

The price of gold is rising in price on a weaker dollar after the U.S. unjustifiably forecasts data on retail sales and the labor market.

The data presented by the Ministry of Commerce, showed the results of last month expenditure grew moderately, but was lower than experts predicted, becoming a potentially troubling sign for an economy that is struggling to overcome the effects of the recession in the first quarter.

According to the report, the seasonally adjusted volume of retail sales increased in May by 0.3% - to $ 437.650 billion Excluding car purchases, sales grew by 0.1% compared with April. Excluding auto and gasoline sales were unchanged in May. Economists had expected a 0.5% overall growth in retail sales, and base - at around 0.4%.

Meanwhile, retail sales in April was higher than previously reported. Total sales rose 0.5% in March, compared with the initial estimate at 0.1%, while sales excluding autos rose 0.4% instead of 0.0%. But despite such notable revision, the April increase was much less than in March - at the level of 1.5%. Nevertheless, total retail sales increased in May by 4.3% compared to last year.

The number of Americans who first applied for unemployment benefits rose slightly last week, but remained near the level indicating a modest improvement in the labor market.

The Labor Department said: seasonally adjusted number of initial claims for unemployment insurance for the week ending June 7, increased by 4000 - to the level of 317,000. Economists had expected the value of this ratio will decrease to 306 thousand add the figure for the previous week was revised upward for 1000 - to the level of 313,000.

Furthermore, the data showed: an indicator assessing the average number of the last four weeks, up by 4750 - to reach 315 250. But despite the increase, the ratio has remained below the lowest level since the first half of 2007, before the recession began.

The cost of the August gold futures on the COMEX today rose to $ 1274.5 per ounce.