Colombian retail sales in November rose by 7.5% compared to the previous year. This figure was below the expected growth rate of 8.6%.<\/p>\n
EUR\/USD exceeded 1.1800 following rumours of yen intervention impacting the US dollar. Gold prices surged to $4,988 as the USD weakened due to speculation about yen intervention.<\/p>\n
The US dollar slid to a four-month low in anticipation of the Federal Reserve’s decision. USD\/JPY fell to multi-week lows after potential Ministry of Finance (MOF) action, while GBP\/USD climbed to 1.3600 as US dollar selling intensified.<\/p>\n
Gold prices neared the $5,000 mark amid a higher demand for safe-haven assets. UBS Group AG is planning to offer Bitcoin and Ethereum investment services to select Swiss clients.<\/p>\n
In anticipation of upcoming meetings, the Federal Reserve is expected to pause after three cuts, while the Bank of Canada is likely to maintain rates. Geopolitical tensions may influence decisions, coinciding with potential Federal Reserve chair nominations by Trump.<\/p>\n
Bitcoin’s value dropped below $90,000, with a 5% decrease due to tariff policy changes and ETF outflows creating market volatility. Meanwhile, the market remains watchful for updates regarding the best broker options in various regions for 2026.<\/p>\n
Given the intense US Dollar sell-off we witnessed in the final quarter of 2025, the primary focus for the coming weeks is whether this trend has exhausted itself. The dollar\u2019s slide, fueled by suspected Japanese intervention and a pausing Federal Reserve, pushed assets like Gold near the $5,000 mark. Volatility is now the main asset to trade, as the market decides if late 2025’s momentum will continue or sharply reverse.<\/p>\n
For those trading gold, the rally to near $5,000 was a direct consequence of the dollar’s collapse. Historically, gold has shown a strong inverse correlation to the U.S. Dollar Index (DXY), a pattern that was exaggerated in late 2025. With implied volatility remaining high, using options to define risk, such as buying call spreads, is a prudent way to stay exposed to potential upside while capping losses if the dollar finds a floor.<\/p>\n
The explosive moves in EUR\/USD above 1.1800 and GBP\/USD toward 1.3600 created a very crowded trade by year-end. We saw speculative net-long positions in euro futures approach highs not seen since 2023, signaling the risk of a snap-back. Traders should consider using collars to protect existing long positions from a sudden sentiment shift in the dollar.<\/p>\n
Looking back at the end of 2025, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) and its currency equivalents all spiked, reflecting the uncertainty. These elevated premiums in the options market present an opportunity for those who expect price to either continue swinging wildly or calm down. Selling volatility through strategies like iron condors could be profitable if we enter a period of consolidation.<\/p>\n
We should not ignore signs of scattered weakness, such as the softer-than-expected Colombian retail sales figures from last November. While major currencies soared, this data reminds us that the “risk-on” sentiment driven by a weak dollar has not benefited all markets equally. This suggests caution is warranted when trading emerging market currency pairs against the dollar.<\/p>\n
Everything now hinges on forward guidance from the Federal Reserve, especially after it paused its rate cuts late last year. U.S. inflation data from December, which came in at a stubborn 3.4%, suggests the Fed may not have the room to be as dovish as the market priced in. Any hint that they are not planning further cuts could trigger a violent unwind of the anti-dollar trades that defined the end of 2025.<\/p>\n
Create your live VT Markets account<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0start trading<\/a>\u00a0now. <\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Gold nears $5,000 as USD weakens; Bitcoin falls below $90,000 amid ETF outflows and trade tensions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":16966,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-live-updates"],"acf":{"acf_article_selection_author":null},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40027","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/62"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40027"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40027\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16966"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vtmarkets.com\/en-asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}