(REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko)
People dressed as "Star Wars" characters selecting products in a grocery store in Odessa, Ukraine, on December 3.
Here is what you need to know.
China admits to cooking the books. A report from China's state-run news agency, Xinhua, says "several" officials in the country's Northeast have admitted to fabricating economic data to show higher growth than obtained. In one instance, Liaoning gross domestic product was reported at 9.5% three years ago and is now being reported at 2.7%. According to one unnamed official, "If the past data had not been inflated, the current growth figures would not show such a precipitous fall." Additionally, Guan Yingmin, a government official in Heilongjiang province, suggested investment figures for much of the northern part of the country had been inflated by 20%.
Natural gas is trading at a 13-year low. Unseasonably warm weather has dried up demand for natural gas, pushing its price down to $1.881 per British thermal unit. New York City saw the thermostat reach 70 degrees Fahrenheit on Sunday. The weather is expected to remain unseasonably warm into the end of the year, with AccuWeather data obtained by Bloomberg forecasting a high of 55 degrees in New York on Christmas Day. Monday's 5.3% plunge has the energy component at its lowest level since January 2002.
Iran says it will flood the market with even more oil. West Texas Intermediate crude oil is trading at its lowest level in seven years after Amir Hossein Zamaninia, Iran's deputy oil minister for international and commerce affairs, said there was "absolutely no chance" the country would delay shipments. According to Bloomberg data, Iran pumped 2.8 million barrels a day in October while preparing for the removal of international sanctions at the beginning of January. WTI crude oil is trading down 2.3%% at $34.79 a barrel.
South Africa has its third finance minister in a week. South African President Jacob Zuma named Pravin Gordhan finance minister just four days after firing Nhlanhla Nene and replacing him with unqualified lawmaker David van Rooyen. South Africa's currency, the rand, sank to a record-low 16.0543 per dollar in response to Nene's removal before regaining ground. The rand trades stronger by 4% at 15.2650 per dollar.
Wholesale prices in India fell again. India's Wholesale Inflation Price Index fell for a 13th consecutive month. The pace of the decline in November, however, down 1.99% year-over-year, was the slowest since January. In August, prices tumbled 5.06%, making for their steepest YoY drop since September 1974. India's rupee is weaker by 0.3% at 67.1037 per dollar.