(raw materials / closing price /% change)

Light Crude 75.67 -0.15%

Gold 1,197.30 +0.13%

Brent and West Texas Intermediate were little changed as investors weighed the odds of a production cut from OPEC this week.

Iran may propose that OPEC cut its output target by as much as 1 million barrels a day, Mehr News reported. Hedge funds have turned less bullish on oil in the absence of any clear signal from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries that it will act to bolster prices. The 20 analysts surveyed last week by Bloomberg are divided, with half predicting a cut and the rest no action.

"Whether they are going to cut is up in the air," said Paul Crovo, a Philadelphia-based oil analyst at PNC Capital Advisors. "I won't make big bets either way. There is a lot of expectation that OPEC does need to cut. That's the perception, and it's going to drive the market."

Brent for January settlement added 6 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $80.42 a barrel at 10:41 a.m. New York time on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. Futures closed at $80.36 on Nov. 21, the highest since Nov. 12. The volume of all futures was 49 percent below the 100-day average.

WTI for January delivery rose 24 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $76.75 barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Volume was about 43 percent below the 100-day average. The European benchmark crude traded at a premium of $3.71 to WTI.

The Slovak Economy Ministry's spokeswoman Miriam Ziakova said on Monday that Slovakia and Russia will sign a new 15-year oil deal on December 5. Russia will ship up to 6 million tonnes of oil a year to Slovakia.

The current oil contract expires at the end of this year.

Oil prices were little changed in today's session with Brent Crude trading -0.04% at USD80.33 a barrel and WTI Crude losing -0.04% currently quoted at USD76.49 finding support in China's interest rate cuts and speculation about the OPEC cutting production.

Market participants try to assess the potential outcome of the OPEC meeting, which will take place in Vienna. Experts note that the main producers of OPEC do not want to reduce production quotas, and other members of the cartel, including Venezuela, Iran, Ecuador, Nigeria and Algeria called for measures to stabilize oil prices. Morgan Stanley analysts pointed out that the probability that the leadership of OPEC still decide to cut production, has recently increased. But there is no consensus, analysts seem divided.

Increasingly weak oil prices which have fallen by almost a third in five months add further pressure on the leading OPEC members Saudi Arabia and Kuwait that still seem resisting calls from other members to cut output as they fear losing market shares to U.S. shale drillers. The OPEC with its 12 member countries responsible for 40% of world's oil production is scheduled to meet in three days in Vienna on November 27 to discuss 2015 production target and whether to adjust the current volume of production at 30 million. B / d at the beginning of 2015.

Gold, currently trading below the key-level of USD1200.00 a troy ounce is trading little changed but still lower on Monday. The stronger greenback supported by a stronger U.S. economy and speculations about the FED increasing the benchmark interest rates weigh on gold as it makes the metal more expensive for holders of other currencies. On the other hand stimulus policies from China and Europe are supporting gold prices. The sudden decision of China to lower their rates, which increased the likelihood of increased demand from the world's biggest consumer of the metal let the precious metal climb over USD1200 for the first time in 3 weeks on Friday.

GOLD currently trading below USD1,200.00