Black Knight Financial Services reported today that home prices in May rose 1.1% from April as the housing sector continues to gradually improve. The current price was pegged at $251,000, which is 5.1% higher than May 2014 and is up 25% from the market bottom. The price peak came in June of 2006 at $268,000. Black Knight tracks prices as of their transaction dates every month from more than 18,500 U.S. zip codes. New York led the gains in May with a 1.8% appreciation month-over-month.Oil prices continue to edge lower due to an uptick in supplies and lower demand around the globe. The price of West Texas Intermediate fell to $47.20 a barrel on Monday morning, down from $62 in late June. The decline in oil prices has led gas prices at the pump lower in the last month, after having increased from the early 2015 lows. The national average price for a regular gallon of gasoline fell to $2.71, down six cents in the past month. It is forecasted that gas prices will continue to edge lower as summer gives way to fall.U.S. Stock markets begin the week on a lower note after a big decline in the Chinese Stock markets. China's Shanghai Composite fell 8.5% overnight and is down nearly 30% since the June highs. The China market had been up 150% in June before the recent slide, which was deemed to overvalued or in bubble territory. Stock prices here in the U.S. fell last week as the Federal Reserve gears up to begin raising interest this year. This week, Fed members will meet to discuss monetary policy with the meeting centering on as to the timing of rate hikes later this year.