EURO UP: The euro rose to a three-week high against the dollar on hopes that the Greek government will reach a deal with creditors to trim the country’s debt.

GAS GAIN: Natural gas prices rose after Chesapeake Energy said it will cut production in response to cheap prices and rising supplies. Stocks of gas producers jumped.

STEADY CLIMB: The S&P 500 index edged up 0.62 points Monday to close at 1,316. The stock market is off to a strong start in 2012. Better-than-expected job growth in the U.S. and easing worries about Europe’s debt woes have pushed the S&P 500 up 4.6 percent for the year.

BANGKOK – Asian stocks posted muted gains Monday in trade thinned by Chinese New Year holidays as talks on a debt agreement for Greece dragged on.

Only a handful of markets were open for business. Trading is closed in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and South Korea.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average was up 0.2 percent at 8,779.16 while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.3 percent to 4,228.10. New Zealand’s benchmark added 0.1 percent to 3,279.19.

On Friday, stocks in Europe mostly held their gains for the week, waiting for the outcome of Greece’s negotiations with its creditors on a deal to cut the face value of up to euro200 billion ($258 billion) in debt by 50 percent.

Over the weekend, the representative of Greece’s private creditors said the talks are continuing even after his unexpected departure from the country.

A deal in Athens would allow the country to receive a second bailout package from other European governments and the International Monetary Fund, and cut Greece’s debt from an estimated 160 percent of its annual economic output to 120 percent by 2020.

That is still painfully high, but without the help, Greece will not be able to pay euro14.5 billion in debt due March 20. A Greek default would send borrowing costs higher across Europe and could trigger chaos in the global financial system.

On Wall Street on Friday the Dow rose 96.50 points to close at 12,720.48. The S&P 500 index inched up 0.88 to 1,315.38 and the Nasdaq gained 1.63 points to 2,786.70.

In energy trading, benchmark crude was down 41 cents at $97.92 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

NEW YORK – Microsoft and IBM drove the Dow Jones industrial average up in Friday trading after the tech giants reported stronger earnings than analysts had expected.

But an earnings miss by Google caused its stock to plunge Friday, and other indexes were slightly lower.

The Dow rose 56 points to 12,680 as of 2:15 p.m. Eastern time. That’s a gain of 0.4 percent.

Microsoft said sales of Xbox games and Office software helped push revenue up in the last quarter of 2011. IBM credited better sales of software and services and raised its earnings outlook for the year. Microsoft rose 5 percent and IBM rose 4 percent.

In other trading, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 4 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,310. The Nasdaq composite fell 8, or 0.3 percent, to 2,780.

Plenty of things are going right, said Frank Fantozzi, CEO of Planned Financial Services, an independent wealth manager in Cleveland. Applications for unemployment benefits dropped last week to the lowest level in nearly four years. Housing sales are steadily rising. And even though high-profile companies such as Google and JPMorgan Chase have posted disappointing earnings results in the past week, the bulk of companies are beating estimates, he said.

“Overall, we’re moving in the right direction and it’s bolstered the market,” Fantozzi said. “The S&P getting over 1,300 this week is a nice sign.

Google lost 8.2 percent after its earnings per share fell a dollar short of analysts’ estimates. The misfire stemmed from an 8 percent drop in prices that the Internet search giant charges advertisers for each click.

In another sign that investors were becoming more willing to take on risk, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.03 percent, the first time its been above 2 percent in two weeks. The yield, a widely used benchmark for corporate and consumer borrowing, has been mostly trading below 2 percent since early December as investors park money in relatively low-risk assets.

The National Association of Realtors said that home sales rose 5 percent in December, the third straight monthly increase.

Concerns about debt talks in Greece still hang over the market. Greece is in the middle of talks with creditors to reduce its debts and avoid a default. A deal is needed to help Greece avoid a default when a euro14.5 billion bond repayment comes due in March.

Among other companies in the news:

• Capital One Financial lost 6 percent. The bank and credit-card company’s earnings sank 41 percent as expenses for marketing, salaries and legal fees jumped compared with the year before.

• Schlumberger rose less than 1 percent. The oil-field services company’s quarterly profit surged 36 percent, helped by exploration work in the Middle East and Africa. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to 27.5 cents.

All three indexes are on track to end the week with gains. The Dow is up 2 percent and the S&P 500 1.7 percent.

Stocks have been on a slow and steady climb to start 2012. The S&P 500 has closed higher on 10 of 12 days and is up 4.2 percent for the year.

BANGKOK – Asian stock markets rose Friday amid signs that the U.S. economy was picking up steam, but European shares opened lower as nervous traders awaited results of crucial negotiations between debt-mired Greece and its lenders.

Benchmark oil hovered above $100 per barrel while the dollar rose against the euro and the yen.

European stocks fell in early trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 shed 0.1 percent to 5,733.14 and Germany’s DAX was 0.3 percent lower at 6,396.62. France’s CAC-40 lost 0.5 percent to 3,306.20. Wall Street also appeared set to open lower, with Dow Jones industrial futures down 0.2 percent to 12,567 and S&P 500 futures shedding 0.3 percent to 1,306.50.

Critical negotiations were under way in Athens between the government and private creditors over a debt restructuring. Greece cannot afford to repay its debts and is trying to persuade its creditors to accept losses of at least 50 percent on billions of euros (dollars) in Greek bonds.

Failure to seal a deal would likely result in a financially disastrous default by Greece.

“For the moment, the market expects a deal to be made while downside risk still exists and any disappointment could end the week of rallies,” Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong said in an email.

Signs out of the U.S. on Thursday indicating the U.S. economic recovery was on track powered Asian shares higher earlier in the day.

On the last trading day before Chinese New Year holidays begin Monday, the Shanghai Composite Index climbed 1 percent to 2,319.12. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose 1.5 percent to close at 8,766.36. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.8 percent to 20,110.37 and South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.8 percent to 1,949.89.

Strong U.S. corporate earnings boosted investor risk tolerance. IBM Corp.’s fourth-quarter earnings beat Wall Street expectations, while Bank of America and Morgan Stanley both reported results that were better than analysts were expecting.

That helped lift shares in Japan’s major banks, including Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, which jumped 5.1 percent. Mizuho Financial Group was up 5.5 percent and Nomura Holdings surged 5.2 percent.

Another positive sign for the U.S. economy was data that showed a strengthening job market. The number of people seeking unemployment benefits fell last week to 352,000, the fewest since April 2008.

“The U.S. has better job figures and China’s central bank pumped money into the banking system to provide money to cash-starved enterprises so they can pay new year bonuses. I think after the Chinese New Year, be prepared for a correction,” said Francis Lun, managing director of Lyncean Holdings in Hong Kong.

Some Hong Kong-listed banks and insurers fell as investors sold shares to book profits ahead of the Lunar New Year, analysts said. The Industrial & Commercial Bank of China fell 1.1 percent. Ping An Insurance shed 0.8 percent.

Resources stocks advanced following strong gains in metals prices overnight.

Mining giant Rio Tinto Ltd. rose 1.2 percent. Fortescue Metals Group, Australia’s third-biggest iron ore producer, gained 2.6 percent.

Benchmark crude for February delivery was down 4 cents at $100.35 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 20 cents to finish at $100.39 per barrel in New York on Thursday.

In currency trading, the euro fell to $1.2932 from $1.2936 late Thursday in New York. The dollar rose to 77.21 yen from 77.17 yen.

LONDON – Financial markets were subdued Thursday as investors awaited developments in Greece’s debt-reduction talks with private creditors, a day after the International Monetary Fund revealed it was looking to get its hands on another half a trillion dollars to help it shore up a fragile global economy.

Another successful bond auction from Spain and relief that Germany’s second-largest bank, Commerzbank AG, won’t need to help from shareholders or the government to boost its capital base helped ease concerns over Europe’s debt crisis in the run-up to a raft of U.S. corporate earnings.

However, the main focus of attention in markets remains the negotiations between Greece and the Institute of International Finance, which represents private sector bondholders. Talks are set to continue later, having restarted Wednesday.

Greece needs to clinch the agreement quickly to qualify for more bailout loans before it faces a major bond repayment on March 20. Without the money, the country would find it difficult to service its debts and be forced to default, potentially triggering more turmoil in global markets.

Last October, Greece’s partners in the eurozone sanctioned a deal whereby Greece’s creditors agree to take a cut in the value of their Greek bond holdings to help lighten the country’s debt burden. The deal with private investors aims to reduce Greece’s debt by euro100 billion ($127.9 billion) by swapping private creditors’ bonds for new ones with a lower value. It is a key part of a euro130 billion international bailout, the second one for Greece.

Hopes that a deal is being thrashed out has helped shore up sentiment in markets in recent days as has the IMF’s revelation that it aims to raise up to $500 billion to meet its $1 trillion financing needs in coming years. The new money to be raised includes $200 billion that European countries recently agreed to hand the IMF.

“There was a time when the idea that a body like the IMF would need such a huge amount of money to cover such a short period of time would have been taken as bad news,” said Gary Jenkins, an analyst at Swordfish Research. “This is not the first time in this crisis that a big figure has been thrown out there so it will be interesting to see if this time there is any reality behind the number.”

As investors awaited more details on the Greek deal and the IMF’s fundraising, market movements were subdued.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was flat at 5,701 but France’s CAC-40 rose 0.5 percent to 3,281. Germany’s DAX fell 0.2 percent to 6,344 even though shares in Commerzbank AG rallied around 10 percent after it revealed it could raise euro5.3 billion ($6.8 billion) to shore up its capital base, as demanded by European regulators, without resorting to the state or shareholders.

A recent easing in concerns over Europe’s debt crisis has helped the euro clamber off Monday’s 17-month low against the dollar below $1.27. It’s now trading around two cents higher at $1.2881, up 0.2 percent on the day.

Wall Street was poised for a flat opening, though a raft of U.S. earnings later from the likes of Bank of America and Morgan Stanley could change that. Dow futures were down 0.1 percent at 12,496 while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 futures fell a similar rate to 1,300.

“Unusually, at least compared to the last few months, Europe may not dwarf investor’s agenda this afternoon as a host of U.S. firms are due to report,” said Shavaz Dhalla, a trader at Spreadex.

Earlier in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose 1 percent to close at 8,639.68. South Korea’s Kospi rebounded 1.2 percent to 1,914.97 after a losing session Wednesday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.3 percent at 19,942.95.

Oil prices remained supported above $101 a barrel — benchmark oil for February delivery was up 69 cents to $101.28 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

___

Pamela Sampson in Bangkok contributed to this report.

BANGKOK – World markets rose Thursday as investors grew more comfortable with riskier assets such as stocks after a pledge by the IMF to help stave off a financial crisis and as hopes rose for an agreement on the restructuring of Greece’s debt.

Benchmark oil rose above $101 per barrel while the dollar fell against the euro and the yen.

European bourses were mostly higher in early trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.1 percent to 5,697.70. Germany’s DAX rose 0.1 percent 6,359.08 and France’s CAC-40 added 0.4 percent to 3,276.87.

Futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street after shares rallied on Wednesday. Dow Jones industrial futures drifted marginally lower to 12,494 while S&P 500 futures lost 0.2 percent to 1,300.

Earlier Thursday, Asian shares posted broad gains. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose 1 percent to close at 8,639.68. South Korea’s Kospi rebounded 1.2 percent to 1,914.97 after a losing session Wednesday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.3 percent at 19,942.95.

Benchmarks in Singapore and mainland China also rose. Markets in Taiwan were closed for Chinese New Year.

Analysts said investors were becoming more comfortable with taking on risk despite multiple headwinds — including a likely recession in Europe, a possible debt default by Greece and a warning from the World Bank on Wednesday of a possible slump in global economic growth.

“Evidence that markets are becoming increasingly resilient to bad news emerged from the muted reaction to sharp downgrades in growth forecasts by the World Bank,” Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong said in a research note.

Fears that the euro common currency might implode amid a mountain of sovereign debt eased Wednesday after the International Monetary Fund said it was looking at ways to raise another $500 billion for loans to struggling countries.

The IMF has put up roughly a third of the money given as rescue loans to European governments. But analysts cautioned that the crisis was far from over.

“What needs to be understood is that the IMF doesn’t have enough money to help the eurozone countries. They could only get it from newly printed money from the ECB and that would mean inflation,” said Martin Hennecke, associate director of Tyche Group in Hong Kong, referring to the European Central Bank.

“There’s only two choices: Either you have bankruptcy of major countries like Italy, which would basically be Armageddon, or the ECB prints money and lends it to banks and the IMF, and that would mean high inflation.”

For its part, Greece is running out of time to avoid becoming the first euro country to default on its debts and potentially trigger a chain reaction that could ultimately destabilize the global economy. Talks are taking place in Athens between the government and private creditors trying to negotiate a debt restructuring.

Negotiations resumed Wednesday after breaking down late last week amid disagreement over the terms of new bonds that Greece would issue to replace expiring bonds that it cannot afford to pay off. Greece needs to clinch the agreement quickly to qualify for more bailout loans before it faces a major bond repayment March 20.

Banks and insurance companies were among the beneficiaries of the better investment mood. Hong Kong-listed Ping An Insurance soared 7 percent and China Life Insurance Co. Ltd. rose 2.8 percent. China Construction Bank added 2.5 percent. South Korea’s Shinhan Financial Group added 2 percent.

Australia’s Lynas Corp. Ltd. soared 8.5 percent amid speculation that the rare earths miner will be cleared to proceed with its Malaysian project by officials later this month.

Benchmark oil for February delivery was up 69 cents to $101.28 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 12 cents to $100.59 per barrel on the Nymex on Wednesday.

In currencies, the euro rose to $1.2884 from $1.2841 late Wednesday in New York. The dollar fell to 76.75 yen from 76.80 yen.

___

Follow Pamela Sampson on Twitter at http://twitter.com/pamelasampson

TOKYO (Reuters) – The Tokyo Stock Exchange is in final talks to keep the scandal-hit Olympus Corp listed on the bourse, Jiji News Agency reported on Monday.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange kept Olympus on its watchlist after the firm met its deadline to file its revised results on December 14, which revealed a $1.1 billion dent in its balance sheet.

A source close to the matter told Reuters on Sunday that Olympus is considering suing current and former executives for compensation totaling about 90 billion yen ($1.2 billion), while its new president is considering resigning.

(Reporting By Mari Saito; Editing by Ed Lane)

LONDON – The collapse of talks aimed at reducing the staggering U.S. budget deficit weighed on world markets Tuesday but failed to stifle a rebound in Europe.

Stocks took a pummeling on Monday after a so-called supercommittee in Congress failed to reach a deal to cut the U.S. federal budget deficit by $1.2 trillion over 10 years. While not entirely unexpected, the failure heightened worries that political bickering — in the U.S. and Europe — will hurt efforts to cut debt during a period of declining economic growth.

European countries are locked in a debate over how to provide a lasting solution to their debt crisis, which is causing borrowing rates to rise to dangerous highs for ever-larger countries.

Many countries would like the European Central Bank to step up its bond purchases, which have the effect of keeping down borrowing rates. It currently buys bonds in limited amounts, but experts say it needs to expand the program significantly if it is to be effective.

Germany, however, opposes such a move for fear it would create inflation and saddle the central bank with bad loans.

Berlin is also against issuing eurobonds — debt backed by all 17 eurozone nations — that the European Commission is pushing for this week. Chancellor Angela Merkel is worried it would expose German taxpayers to irresponsible spending in other countries and erode pressure on governments to reform their economies.

As the leaders struggle to find common ground, the markets remained on edge.

Spain was forced to pay sharply higher interest rates in an auction of short-term debt, suggesting investor remain wary of the country’s financial prospects despite a new, center-right government coming to power this week.

European stocks were up slightly after huge losses on Monday, as some investors sought bargains. Britain’s FTSE 100 added 0.6 percent to 5,251.46 while Germany’s DAX rose 1.1 percent to 5,664.73 and France’s CAC-40 gained 1.0 percent to 2,922.81.

Wall Street was headed for a soft opening, with Dow Jones industrial futures flat to 11,519 and S&P 500 futures up 0.5 percent at 1,196.

Shares in Asia struggled to make headway after Monday’s losses on Wall Street. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index fell 0.4 percent to 8,314.74, its lowest close since March 2009.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.7 percent to 4,133. China’s Shanghai Composite Index edged 0.1 percent lower to 2,412.63. Benchmarks in Taiwan, Malaysia and New Zealand also fell.

But Hong Kong’s Hang Seng erased early losses, rising 0.1 percent to end at 18,251.59 and South Korea’s Kospi index rose 0.3 percent to 1,826.28.

Clouds are gathering in Asia, where Singapore — seen as a bellwether of Western demand because of its very high reliance on trade — said Monday its economy would likely suffer a sharp slowdown in 2012 as export orders from developed countries wane.

“I think we are looking at maybe 2 percent growth for the entire world. For a normal year, global economic growth will be like 4 percent, but now it has to revise down to about 2 percent, so you are taking out a big chunk of the GDP … around the world,” said Francis Lun, managing director of Lyncean Holdings in Hong Kong.

Losses among Asian stocks were broad-based and included banks and consumer shares.

Hong Kong-listed China Construction Bank and Australia & New Zealand Banking Group both fell 1.1 percent. Hong Kong-listed GOME Electrical Appliances slid 1.9 percent and China Garments Co. lost 2.3 percent.

Mainland Chinese shares in power, food and travel companies led the gains while shares in chemical, aviation and auto companies weakened. Air China Ltd. lost 5.5 percent while Bright Food (Group) Co. gained 3 percent.

In currency trading, the euro rose to $1.3533 from $1.3496 late Monday in New York. The dollar was roughly unchanged at 76.93 yen.

Benchmark crude for January delivery was up 93 cents at $97.85 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 75 cents to settle at $96.92 in New York on Monday.

___

Pamela Sampson in Bangkok and Fu Ting in Shanghai contributed to this report.

BANGKOK – The collapse of talks aimed at reducing the staggering U.S. budget deficit weighed on Asian stock markets Tuesday but failed to stifle a rebound in Europe.

Benchmark oil rose above $97 per barrel, while the dollar slipped against the euro and the yen.

European shares rebounded in early trading after sharp losses Monday. Britain’s FTSE 100 added 1.1 percent to 5,280.31. Germany’s DAX rose 1.2 percent to 5,671.74 and France’s CAC-40 gained 1.4 percent to 2,936.53.

Wall Street was also headed for a higher opening, with Dow Jones industrial futures up 0.4 percent to 11,568. S&P 500 futures rose 0.6 percent to 1,197.80.

Shares in Asia struggled to make headway after Monday’s losses on Wall Street. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index fell 0.4 percent to 8,314.74, its lowest close since March 2009.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.7 percent to 4,133. China’s Shanghai Composite Index edged 0.1 percent lower to 2,412.63. Benchmarks in Taiwan, Malaysia and New Zealand also fell.

But Hong Kong’s Hang Seng erased early losses, rising 0.1 percent to end at 18,251.59 and South Korea’s Kospi index rose 0.3 percent to 1,826.28.

Investor jitters intensified Monday after a so-called supercommittee in Congress failed to reach a deal to cut the U.S. federal budget deficit by $1.2 trillion over 10 years. While not entirely unexpected, the failure led to heavy selling on Wall Street.

The deficit reduction impasse underscored doubts about Washington’s political will to make tough decisions and drew a rare rebuke from Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi.

“The Democrat and Republican lawmakers need to stand in the shoes of the public. The key to market stability lies in how the parties could compromise towards an agreement,” Azumi said at a news conference in Tokyo.

The impasse in Washington comes at a time of economic fragility in Europe, which is reeling from a spreading debt crisis and recession worries.

One European country after another has fallen into crisis because of debt. Wary of the ability of countries to pay back their loans, bond investors have insisted on higher returns on national bonds, pushing borrowing costs to dangerous levels.

Adding to the pessimism was a warning by Moody’s ratings agency that AAA-rated France could face a downgrade because the debt crisis in Europe has pushed borrowing costs higher for the French government.

Clouds are also gathering in Asia, where Singapore — seen as a bellwether of Western demand because of its very high reliance on trade — said Monday its economy would likely suffer a sharp slowdown in 2012 as export orders from developed countries wane.

“I think we are looking at maybe 2 percent growth for the entire world. For a normal year, global economic growth will be like 4 percent, but now it has to revise down to about 2 percent, so you are taking out a big chunk of the GDP … around the world,” said Francis Lun, managing director of Lyncean Holdings in Hong Kong.

Losses among Asian stocks were broad-based and included banks and consumer shares.

Hong Kong-listed China Construction Bank and Australia & New Zealand Banking Group both fell 1.1 percent. Hong Kong-listed GOME Electrical Appliances slid 1.9 percent and China Garments Co. lost 2.3 percent.

Mainland Chinese shares in power, food and travel companies led the gains while shares in chemical, aviation and auto companies weakened. Air China Ltd. lost 5.5 percent while Bright Food (Group) Co. gained 3 percent.

On Monday, the Dow Jones industrial average lost almost 250 points to finish down 2.1 percent at 11,547.31. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index dropped 1.9 percent to 1,192.98. The Nasdaq composite index declined 49.36, or 1.9 percent, to 2,523.14.

In currency trading, the euro rose to $1.3533 from $1.3496 late Monday in New York. The dollar slipped to 76.90 yen from 76.94 yen.

Benchmark crude for January delivery was down 28 cents at $96.64 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 75 cents to settle at $96.92 in New York on Monday.

___

AP researcher Fu Ting contributed from Shanghai.

BANGKOK – The collapse of talks aimed at reducing the staggering U.S. budget deficit sent Asian stock markets mostly lower Tuesday.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index fell 0.1 percent to 8,337.52. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.1 percent to 18,199.17 and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.6 percent to 4,138.60. But South Korea’s Kospi index rose 0.4 percent to 1,827.12.

Investor jitters intensified after a so-called supercommittee in Congress failed Monday to reach a deal to cut the federal budget deficit by $1.2 trillion over 10 years. While not entirely unexpected, the failure led to heavy selling on Wall Street. Worries about Europe’s debt problems also lingered.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost almost 250 points to finish down 2.1 percent at 11,547.31. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index dropped 1.9 percent to 1,192.98. The Nasdaq composite index declined 49.36, or 1.9 percent, to 2,523.14.

“With the lack of the Supercommittee agreement in the US, and rising yields on Spanish bonds, investors in Asian markets are likely to be extremely cautious today. Markets are opening on a negative tone, with Asian currencies and equities under selling pressure,” analysts at Credit Agricole CIB said in a report.

The deficit reduction impasse underscored doubts about Washington’s political will to make tough decisions at a time when Europe is reeling from a spreading debt crisis and recession worries.

One European country after another has fallen into crisis because of debt. Wary of the ability of countries to pay back their loans, bond investors have insisted on higher returns on national bonds, pushing borrowing costs to dangerous levels.

Adding to the pessimism was a warning by Moody’s ratings agency that AAA-rated France could face a downgrade because the debt crisis in Europe has pushed borrowing costs higher for the French government.

In currency trading, the euro rose slightly to $1.3498 from $1.3496 late Monday in New York. The dollar strengthened slightly to 77.05 yen from 76.94 yen.

Benchmark crude for January delivery was up 24 cents at $97.16 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 75 cents to settle at $96.92 in New York on Monday.