* Strong U.S. jobs data boosts stocks, commodities
* Euro remains shaky on debt concerns
* Redemptions in commodity funds at weekly record -EPFR
* Crude oil drop, strong data boon for global growth
By Saikat Chatterjee
HONG KONG, May 9 (Reuters) - Stocks and commodities stabilised on Monday after last week's solid U.S. payrolls data showed the economic recovery in the world's biggest economy was picking up momentum, though sharp gains may be limited, given the severity of the decline.
Hiring by U.S. companies quickened to its fastest pace in five years in April, a report showed on Friday. The three-month average of private payrolls is now at a level seen only twice since 2000, Thomson Reuters data shows.[ID:nOAT004799]
While last week's violent moves were seen more driven by unwinding of speculative positions rather than a sudden weakening of the otherwise favourable global economic outlook, traders said the sheer scale of the decline may introduce more two way volatility into the market in the near term.
Last week, the Reuters-Jefferies CRB index , a global
benchmark for commodities prices staged its biggest weekly drop
since late 2008 while silver and crude oil
Two days before the U.S. jobs data, redemptions spearheaded by institutional investors in commodity funds hit their highest weekly total on record with funds focusing on gold and precious metals heavily hit by outflows, fund-tracker EPFR Global said.
On Monday, though, prices of copper, wheat and oil rose, with the latter boosted by intensifying conflict in Libya.
"When you see a 30 percent retracement in the likes of silver, you will see some buying, but we are now entering a period of more two-way action as opposed to earlier when you bought commodities and watched it go higher," said Andrew Robinson, a macro, commodities and FX analyst at Saxo Markets.
Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs said it did not rule out a further decline in prices after last week's record drop, while reaffirming its long-term bullish outlook and rival JP Morgan upped its price forecast for oil by $10 per barrel. [ID:nLDE74513V].
BOON FOR GROWTH
Deutsche Bank's Alan Ruskin said the temporary benefit of a 12 percent drop in oil prices along with the jobs data should prove to be a short-term boon for global growth as the growth impact of lower energy prices for major energy consumers like the U.S. and China overwhelms the negative growth implications for energy producers.
Brent crude rose above $110 a barrel after losing $16 last week in its biggest ever decline in dollar terms. ID:nL3E7G903X]
The bounce in commodities also boosted the region's stock markets.
Australia's benchmark index was up by nearly 1 percent while Hong Kong's stocks rose by 0.8 percent, led by petroleum and banking stocks.
MSCI's index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan was up nearly 1 percent after falling by nearly 3 percent last week.
"Things have opened quite nicely but I wouldn't say this is a totally enthusiastic market. Volumes are very light which means that people are nibbling," said Lucinda Chan, division director at Macquarie Equities.
"Today were having a good run but (lately) it's been a slow move up. It's been extremely patchy," she said.
In currency markets, the euro was under pressure after posting its biggest weekly loss versus the dollar due to the deepening euro zone debt problems.
While Greece has denied speculation it is quitting the euro zone, the European Union is under pressure to renegotiate its financial bailout, with an Irish minister saying any concessions given to Athens should mean better terms for Dublin as well. [ID:nLDE7470E8]
The single currency was last at $1.4396 on short-covering, after having slumped to a three-week low around $1.4308, and is now well below a 17-month peak above $1.4900 hit last week.
A revival in demand for risky assets saw demand for safe haven instruments such as bonds cool with ten-year Japanese bond yields edging a shade higher to 1.14 percent.
US Treasuries weakened slightly as traders took profits after Friday's drop which was fuelled by speculation of Greece's exit from the euro zone economy. [ID:nN06231622]
Ten-year yields were up by two basis points to 3.17 percent.
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http://blogs.reuters.com/hedgehub (Additional reporting by Cecile Lefort in SYDNEY and Jungyoun Park in SEOUL; Editing by Ramya Venugopal)