OIL, METALS, CURRENCIES

Crude oil prices advanced after Iran’s oil minister said OPEC should cut production, while natural gas futures declined on expectations of mild U.S. weather. Light sweet crude for February delivery rose 94 cents to $59.10 a barrel on the Nymex. Gasoline gained 5 cents to $1.565 a gallon, while heating oil lost 2 cents to $1.655. Natural gas slipped 22 cents to $10.80 per 1,000 cubic feet. London Brent gained 41 cents to $56.70.

European gold prices rose as weakening dollar increased its appeal. In London gold closed at $515.20 per troy ounce, up from $505.05 on Friday. In Zurich the precious metal advanced to $515.75 from $506.60. In Hong Kong gold gained $4.75 to close at $508.86. Silver closed unchanged at $8.59.

The U.S. dollar dropped against its major counterparts in European trading. The euro was quoted at $1.1912, sharply up from $1.1832. The dollar bought 117.21 yen, down from 117.39. The British pound traded at $1.7276, up from $1.7270.

EARNINGS NEWS

Cal-Maine Foods Inc (CALM: chart), egg producer, reported a Q2 loss of 3 cents a share, up from a loss of 23 cents a share a year-ago. Sales increased in Q2, compared with the same time last year. The company announced that it expects feed costs to be favorable in the months ahead. Cold, snowy weather in much of the country added to strong seasonal holiday demand.

CBRL Group Inc. (CBRL: chart), restaurants and retail concepts developer, announced that same-store restaurant sales for its main Cracker Barrel Old Country Store units increased 0.9% in December. For its Logan''s Roadhouse units, same-store restaurant sales rose 4.4%. The company forecasts revenue growth of 2% to 4% for the Q2, and earnings of 56 to 61 cents a share, including stock option expense of 3 to 4 cents a share, compared with the analyst view of 59 cents a share.

CORPORATE NEWS

DaimlerChrysler AG agreed to sell its off-highway unit to Sweden-based private equity firm EQT for 1.6 billion euros ($1.9 billion). The unit was sold for 1 billion euros excluding assumed debt and pensions, and the automaker said the deal will increase net profit by 300 million euros.

AstraZeneca PLC agreed to its fourth deal in a month and will pay up to $300 million in milestones to license an Alzheimer's disease-treating drug in Phase II development, while the Sinopec Group will get a $1.2 billion subsidy from the Chinese government to compensate for high oil prices. Most of that $1.2 billion will go to the Sinopec listed on the New York Stock Exchange.