Brent crude rose for the first time in a week amid speculation that the drop in prices below $80 a barrel increases the likelihood that OPEC will cut production. West Texas Intermediate was little changed in New York.

Futures gained as much as 1.5 percent in London. OPEC producers have stepped up their diplomatic visits before the group's meeting in two weeks, potentially seeking a consensus on how to react to oil prices that have plunged to a four-year low. Prices could slide further in the coming months as the market enters a period of weaker demand, the International Energy Agency said today.

Oil has collapsed into a bear market as leading members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries resisted calls to cut production and the U.S. shale boom lifted output to the highest level in three decades. Brent is heading for its eighth weekly decline, the longest retreat since the contract began trading in 1988.

"I think the market is basically coming to the conclusion today that this latest price drop has actually increased the likelihood of action from OPEC," Ole Sloth Hansen, an analyst at Saxo Bank A/S, said by phone from Copenhagen. "If there's anything that can motivate some action, it's these oil prices."

Brent for January settlement climbed as much as $1.19 to $78.68 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange and traded for $78.57 at 12:54 p.m. local time. The December contract expired yesterday after losing $2.46 to $77.92, the lowest since September 2010. The European benchmark traded at a premium of $4.08 to WTI for the same month on ICE.

WTI for December delivery climbed 32 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $74.53 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That's about half of its record high at $147.27 in 2008. The contract lost $2.97 to $74.21 yesterday, the lowest close in more than four years. The volume of all futures traded was about twice the 100-day average for the time of day. Prices have declined 24 percent this year.

Gold prices have risen sharply in the past few hours, to obtain support against falling Treasuries yields, despite favorable reports on retail sales and potrebdoveriyu USA.

Gold rose 0.5%, while the yield on 10-year Treasuries fell to 2.347% from 2.377% daily maximum.

Fall Treasuries yields, despite strong evidence, says the revision at a later date to improve the prediction rates. Thus, the precious metal, which is in inverse correlation with the yield increased.

Early reduction of gold was due to the strengthening of the dollar and good US statistics.

Sales at US retailers rebounded in October, as lower gasoline prices contributed to increased household spending in restaurants and shops.

The Commerce Department reported that seasonally adjusted retail sales rose in October by 0.3% compared with the previous month. Recall that in September sales fell 0.3%.

US consumers were the most optimistic about the prospects for the economy since before the beginning of the financial crisis. This is evidenced by the results published in Friday's survey of households conducted by the University of Michigan and Thomson-Reuters. Preliminary index of consumer sentiment University of Michigan / Thomson-Reuters in November jumped to 89.4 vs. 86.9 in October the final value. The November index value is the highest since July 2007.

The dollar rose to a seven-year peak against the yen and close to four-year high against a basket of six major currencies.

"Gold reacts to fluctuations in the USD / JPY. The peak value of the dollar against the yen remains one of the most important factors for two weeks," - said a trader in Singapore.

Japanese market participants are selling gold bullion and jewelery, as the price in yen jumped to a three-month high.

The world's largest reserves of the gold-traded exchange-traded fund SPDR Gold Trust on Thursday fell 0.3 percent to 720.62 tons of six-year low.

The cost of December gold futures on the COMEX today rose to 1179.70 dollars per ounce.

Oil prices rebounded in today's session with Brent Crude trading +0.94% at USD78.22 a barrel, being positive for the first time in a week and WTI Crude gained +0.23% trading at USD74.38 as the OPEC will be more likely to cut production as a consequence of the low prices trading at four-year lows. The OPEC with its 12 member countries responsible for 40% of world's oil production is scheduled to meet in Vienna on November 27 to discuss 2015 production target. A weakening global demand has weighed over oil prices for the last months.

Gold, currently trading at USD1153.00 a troy ounce, lost in today's trading session with a strong U.S. dollar adding further pressure on the metal pushing it towards last Friday's low at USD1131.70. Gold has been bearish for the last weeks as the FED is moving closer to raising interest rates.

GOLD currently trading at USD1153.00