Crude oil prices have recovered after last Thursday's commodity market rout.

Brent crude futures rose 6.5% on Monday to over $116 a barrel, still well below their recent peak of more than $126.

The relief rally comes after a week-long 17% decline in the price - including crude oil's biggest ever one-day fall on Thursday, which was triggered by weak US economic data.

Many hedge funds speculating on the market are said to have made double-digit losses because of the crash.

US stock markets also rose on Monday, with the Dow Jones ending the day 0.4% higher.

Speculators

Shares also fell last week because of concerns about the health of Western economies.

However, stock market movements have been much more subdued than the extreme volatility seen in the price of raw materials, particularly crude oil.

A lot of speculators are thought to have sold their positions during the slump on Thursday, thereby worsening the market fall, and their losses.

Traders attributed the rebound on Monday to "bargain hunters" rather than to any turnaround in market sentiment about the economy.

The recovery was also seen in other - but not all - commodity markets.

Food prices, particularly for grains, also rose.

The price of silver - which has seen some of the greatest speculation and highest volatility - jumped 11%, following a 33% slide over the previous week.

However, prices for industrial metals such as copper and aluminium were largely unchanged.