Dollar shows gains against yen after two sessions of losses

The dollar moved higher against the yen Monday after falling for two consecutive sessions, as investors prepared for the release of minutes from October’s Bank of Japan meeting Monday evening.

The dollar USDJPY, -0.33%  traded at 118.25 yen, compared to ¥117.82 late Friday.

A euro EURUSD, -0.13%  traded for $1.2444 Monday, compared to $1.2390 late Friday.

The pound GBPUSD, -0.14%   traded flat at $1.5707. Lien said that investors saw a small rebound in the pound today as investors adjust positions, but noted that there’s really nothing substantive moving trading. The pound traded at $1.5658 Friday.

The ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, +0.02% a measure of the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, was down 0.22% to 88.1110 late Monday.

Gasoline and Gas Market Update

A return to warmer weather in the U.S. put pressure on natural gas futures, with the December contract NGZ14, +0.07%  plummeting 11 cents or 2.7%, to end at $4.1510 per million British thermal units.

December gasoline RBZ4, -0.12%  lost 2 cents, or 1.1%, to settle at $2.0334 a gallon on Nymex. December heating oil HOZ4, +0.10%  fell less than a penny, or 0.4%, to $2.3955 a gallon, also on Nymex.

Oil futures slip ahead of closely watched OPEC meeting

Oil futures drifted lower Monday after the deadline for talks over Iran’s nuclear programs was extended and investors debated whether the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will move to alleviate a global supply glut by cutting production.

Light, sweet crude for January delivery CLF5, +0.04%  fell 73 cents, or 1%, to settle at $75.78 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That put a stop to a two-session winning streak.

Gold may see ‘decent recovery’ to $1,400

Gold futures wavered around the break-even mark Monday, largely holding on to Friday’s gains that were sparked by central-bank news from China and Europe. Despite gold’s lackluster moves over the past several months, at least one analyst speculated that the yellow precious metal may recover to $1,400 an ounce by 2016.

December gold futures GCZ4, +0.03%   were last up 20 cents, or less than 0.1%, to $1,197.90 an ounce, while December silver SIZ4, +0.64%   edged up a penny, also less than 0.1%, to $16.41 an ounce.

Current Market Update

Here are the latest trading levels for Asia's major stock markets: 

Tokyo (Nikkei Average) up 0.2% 

 Hong Kong (Hang Seng Index) down 0.1% 

 Shanghai (Shanghai Composite Index) up 0.7% 

 Sydney (S&P/ASX 200) down 0.7% 

 Seoul (Kospi) down 0.1% 
 Taipei (Taiex) up 0.2%