Oil extended a surge from the lowest level in almost six years on speculation some investors are buying contracts to close out bearish bets. Gasoline rose as a refinery strike entered a second day.

West Texas Intermediate futures gained as much as 4.8 percent while Brent increased as much as 5 percent before paring those advances. Hedge funds and other speculators held the largest number of short contracts in WTI in four years. Oil rallied 8.3 percent on Friday as drillers pulled 94 rigs from U.S. fields last week, the most on record. Gasoline jumped to a five-week high.

"Traders are stepping in and buying the market again," said Gene McGillian, a senior analyst at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut. "This is a continuation of some of the short-covering that we saw on Friday. The market is watching for signs of slowing oil production."

Oil prices fell to the lowest level since 2009 last month as the U.S. pumped the most in three decades and OPEC kept its own supplies unchanged to defend its share of the global market. The strike by oil workers at plants accounting for 10 percent of U.S. refining capacity continued Monday in the biggest walkout since 1980.

WTI for March delivery rose 89 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $49.13 a barrel at 9:30 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange after reaching $50.56. The volume of all futures was more than double the 100-day average.

Brent for March settlement increased $1.06, or 2 percent, to $54.05 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange after rising to $55.62. The European benchmark crude traded at a premium of $4.75 to WTI.

On Friday oil has rallied amid indications that U.S. producers may cut production as prices continue to trade at low levels, after a 7th consecutive month of falling prices. Oil prices are also rising on news from China: Beijing ordered the refineries of the country to keep a 15-day supply of oil. Although these regulations will come into force gradually over one to three years, many refineries will take advantage of low prices for stockpiling.Today Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate are trading mixed with both recovering from early session losses. Brent Crude added +0.49%, currently trading at USD53.25 a barrel, back above the important USD50 level. On January 13th Crude hit a low at USD45.19. West Texas Intermediate lost -0.37% currently quoted at USD48.06. Disappointing data from China and the U.S. weigh on prices. China and the U.S. are the world's largest consumers of oil. Russian oil production stayed near the post-Soviet production-record from last month.

Oil prices fell by nearly 60 percent over the past six months, and both key brands of oil are currently trading below $ 50 a barrel as the worldwide supply exceeds demand in a period of low global economic growth and the OPEC refusing to cut output rates to stabilize prices. Smaller OPEC members want to cut production but the organisation, responsible for 40% of worldwide production focuses on its fight for market share.

Gold is trading lower today after Friday's gains following a sell off on Thursday. In January Gold advanced the most in three years gaining 8%. The political turmoil in Greece lends support to the precious metal. The new Greek government said that it will not collaborate with the IMF and the EU fuelling fears about instability in the Eurozone.

Expectations that the FED is going to hike interest rates in mid-2015 as the U.S. economy is growing and the labour market is improving put pressure on gold. Higher interest rates make gold less attractive as the metal is not yield-bearing. A stronger greenback also weighed on the dollar-denominated precious metal as it makes it more expensive for holders of other currencies.

The precious metal is currently quoted at USD1,273.80, -0,82% a troy ounce. On Thursday the 22^nd of January gold reached a five-month high at USD1,307.40.

(raw materials / closing price /% change)

Light Crude 47.85 -0.81%

Gold 1,279.20 +1.86%