Oil prices fell Monday, adding to last week’s losses on doubts over the extent of the output cuts by a group of top producers as well as concerns over weakening global demand. 

By 09:15 ET (14.15 GMT), the U.S. crude futures traded 0.8% lower at $73.45 a barrel and the Brent contract dropped 0.8% to $78.28 a barrel. 

The dollar ticked higher on Monday, regaining some ground after falling for three straight weeks on bets that the U.S. Federal Reserve will soon be cutting interest rates, while bitcoin breached $42,000 for the first time since early 2022.

The dollar index, which tracks the currency against six major peers, rose by 0.59% to 103.71, while the euro was last down 0.61% to $1.0815.

Bitcoin rose on Monday, briefly surpassing $42,000 to reach a 20-month high, in a new surge of momentum fueled by the possibility of U.S. interest rate cuts and traders betting that the U.S. will soon approve exchange-traded spot bitcoin funds.

The world's biggest cryptocurrency rose as high as $42,162 on Monday, its highest since April 2022, seemingly casting off the funk that had settled over crypto markets following the collapse of FTX and other crypto-business failures last year. It was up 6.49% at $41,311.26 as of 1605 GMT.

President of El Salvador Nayib Bukele has taken to Twitter to share the recent news of the progress the country has been making after making the flagship its national currency.

Bukele proudly stated that the country’s investments in Bitcoin have made all the media that ridiculed this decision fall silent. Not only will El Salvador be able to cover all the funds it invested in BTC, it would also make a few million USD on top of that, should they sell all their Bitcoin now. But Bukele says they have no intention of selling.

Oil prices climbed more than 2% on Monday as further supply cuts in OPEC+ production are expected to be announced following a meeting of member countries early next week.

Brent crude futures settled up $1.71, or 2.1%, at $82.32 a barrel.

The front-month December West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) expired at $77.60, up $1.71, or 2.3%. The more active January futures gained $2.39 to $77.83, up 1.8%.

Gold prices were muted on Monday, but retained a bulk of last week’s gains as easing concerns over rising U.S. interest rates pulled down the dollar.

Industrial metals saw strong gains, with copper prices rising 0.6% to a 1-½ month high on the prospect of more stimulus measures in major importer China. 

The dollar index fell to its lowest in more than two months on Monday, continuing a drop from the prior week, as investors largely believe the U.S. Federal Reserve has completed its interest rate hike cycle and look towards when the central bank may start to cut rates.

The dollar index hit a low of 103.37, its weakest level since Sept. 1, after a tumble of nearly 2% last week, which marked the biggest weekly percentage drop since mid-July.

The yuan and Australian dollar ascended to three-month peaks today, buoyed by strategic moves from China's central bank and a softening U.S. dollar, which hit a two-month low with the dollar index falling to 103.64. This comes as market consensus grows around the belief that U.S. interest rates may have topped out following recent weak economic indicators.

The cryptocurrency market has experienced a significant upturn, with Bitcoin (BTC-USD) breaking through a crucial resistance level and surpassing $37,250 today. This rally is partly driven by growing optimism around exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and the broader crypto market's positive reaction to the presidential election results in Argentina.

In the latest trading session, India's precious metal futures market witnessed a slight downturn. The Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) of India reported a dip in gold futures due for delivery on December 5, which decreased by ₹87 or 0.15%, to close at ₹59,665 per 10 grams. The trading day saw gold prices fluctuating between ₹59,652 and ₹59,699.