OIL, METALS, CURRENCIES

Crude oil prices dropped to a three-month low on mixed weather forecasts. Light sweet crude for January delivery dropped 81 cents to $57.25 a barrel on the Nymex. Heating oil fell 2 cents to $1.709. Gasoline lost 3 cents to $1.5385. Natural gas declined 7 cents to $13.56 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold prices climbed 1.2%, following last-week sharp declines. In London spot gold rose $6.05 to $509.29 per troy ounce.

The U.S. dollar climbed the most in three weeks against the yen, recovering from recent losses. The dollar bought 116.19 yen, up from 115.67.

EARNINGS NEWS

Circuit City Stores (CC: chart), consumer electronics retailer, reported Q3 earnings from continuing operations of 6 cents a share, up from an equivalent loss of 3 cents a share a year-earlier. Sales advanced 14% and same-store sales advanced 13.1%. The company topped analyst estimate for a profit of 4 cents a share.