(raw materials / closing price /% change)

Light Crude 63.02 -0.05%

Gold 1,203.70 +0.74%

Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate slumped to five-year lows amid concern that hedge funds and other money managers bet too much on rising prices.

Futures dropped as much as 3.7 percent in London and 3.4 percent in New York. Net-long positions on Brent rose to the highest in four months in the week to Dec. 2, according to data from the ICE Futures Europe exchange, while bullish bets on WTI climbed the most in 20 months. Brent declined 9.9 percent in the period and WTI slumped 9.7 percent.

"People might consider it a buying opportunity but we still have an over-supplied market," said Tom Finlon, Jupiter, Florida-based director of Energy Analytics Group LLC. "New lows will be tested. We are in for a volatile market. You have to expect very sharp swings."

Both Brent and WTI tumbled 18 percent in November as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries decided to maintain its 30 million-barrel-a-day output target. Crude has traded in a bear market since October amid the fastest pace of U.S. production in three decades, rising output from OPEC and signs of weakening global demand. Banks including Morgan Stanley, BNP Paribas SA and Barclays Plc have cut price forecasts.

Brent for January settlement declined $2.42, or 3.5 percent, to $66.65 a barrel at 10:50 a.m. New York time on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange after reaching $66.53, the lowest intraday level since October 2009. The volume of all futures was 18 percent below the 100-day average.

WTI for January delivery dropped $2.11, or 3.2 percent, to $63.73 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after reaching $63.63, the lowest since July 2009. Volume was 8.3 percent below the 100-day average.

Gold prices traded higher on Monday. Spot gold rose to $1,197.80 a troy ounce in morning European trade. Gold lost 1.1% on Friday after the better-than-expected U.S. labour market data. The U.S. economy added 321,000 jobs in November, exceeding expectations for a rise of 225,000 jobs, after a gain of 243,000 jobs in October. October's figure was revised up from a rise of 214,000 jobs.

The U.S. unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.8% in November, in line with expectations.

Gold was also supported by speculation on further stimulus measures in China, Japan and the Eurozone.

Bloomberg

Dollar Gauge at Five-Year High as Kiwi, Aussie Decline on China

A gauge of the dollar headed for its highest close in more than five years after China said imports unexpectedly fell in November, underpinning demand for the currency of the U.S. where growth is beating forecasts.

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-07/dollar-extends-rallies-versus-yen-aussie-as-economies-diverge.html

Reuters

Bank on 'Super Mario' to give Europe a monetary jolt

(Reuters) - From his office on the 41st floor of the gleaming new European Central Bank headquarters, Mario Draghi's view stretches far beyond Frankfurt's high-rise financial centre and he doesn't like what he sees.

The darkening outlook for the euro zone's flat and nearly inflation-less economy, exacerbated by tumbling oil prices, is driving him inexorably towards radical action.

Source: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/12/08/ecb-policy-draghi-idUKKBN0JM0O120141208

Reuters

China faces more pressure as November imports shrink unexpectedly, exports slow

(Reuters) - China's imports shrank unexpectedly in November while export growth slowed, fuelling concerns the world's second-largest economy could be facing a sharper slowdown and adding pressure on policymakers to ramp up stimulus measures.

Source: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/12/08/uk-china-economy-trade-idUKKBN0JM04O20141208