LONDON, Dec 1 Reuters Global stocks edged up on Friday, having closed out their best month in three years the day before, as investor confidence that interest rates will fall next year has lured cash into equities, cryptocurrencies and gold at the expense of the dollar.

The MSCI AllWorld index eased 0.1, mostly on the back of declines in Asian stocks.

Shares in Europe rose 0.6, having posted their biggest monthly gain since January, up 6.5 in November, thanks to an acceleration in expectations for the European Central Bank to start cutting rates as early as April.

Our sense is that quite a lot of the good news is already in the price. A little bit of profittaking and rebalancing have probably played in the monthend, obscuring the messaging we typically get from the price action, said Rodrigo Catril, a senior FX strategist at the National Australia Bank.

The MSCI index posted its strongest monthly gain since November 2020 last month, while gold topped 2,000 an ounce for the first time since May and bitcoin is now nudging at 18month highs.

Adding to a sense of relief that inflation is finally subsiding, oil prices fell over 2 overnight, after coordinated output cuts by the world39;s largest exporters fell short of market expectations.

Crude oil prices showed no reaction to Israel39;s military saying it has resumed combat against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, after a sevenday truce, raising the prospect of renewed violence in the Middle East.

Brent crude futures slipped…