Portugal’s business confidence reached a level of 3.1 in December, slightly higher than the previous measure of 3. This suggests a positive outlook among Portuguese businesses as the year concluded.<\/p>\n
In the foreign exchange market, the EUR\/USD exchange rate adjusted to 1.1750 as the US dollar weakened on Friday. This movement occurred despite a decline in Wall Street, with attention now turning to upcoming US and European data.<\/p>\n
GBP\/USD experienced an increase, nearly reaching 1.3500 after rebounding from a test of 1.3400. However, the pair’s progress was limited, with holiday sentiment contributing to modest gains near 1.3490.<\/p>\n
Gold showed slight fluctuations, falling from $4,400 to around $4,320 within a day. Despite the volatility, market expectations of a dovish Fed and ongoing geopolitical issues support gold’s longer-term stability.<\/p>\n
Cardano saw gains in early 2026, trading above $0.36 as technical indicators and market data pointed to a bullish trend. The focus is on an upside breakout, bolstered by favorable on-chain and derivatives data.<\/p>\n
The economic forecast for advanced countries in 2026-2027 appears optimistic, following a year of global resilience. Major supportive factors from 2025 are expected to sustain into 2026, suggesting solid economic performance.<\/p>\n
With markets reopening in a calm session, we see trading is thin and the Dow is flat. The main event everyone is waiting for is the US jobs report next week, which will set the tone for the coming weeks. For now, positions should be cautious as low liquidity can exaggerate any small moves.<\/p>\n
The U.S. Dollar is showing weakness, which is fueling the bounce in EUR\/USD toward 1.1750 and keeping GBP\/USD near 1.3500. This is because we are pricing in a more dovish Federal Reserve for 2026, especially after we saw core inflation metrics ease toward the end of 2025. The Fed’s own December 2025 meeting projected several rate cuts for this year, and derivatives markets are betting they will start by the second quarter.<\/p>\n
This expectation of lower rates is the primary driver behind Gold\u2019s strength, with prices holding firm near the $4,300 level after touching $4,400. Traders should view Gold not just as a safe haven from geopolitical risk, but as a direct play on monetary policy. Call options on gold-backed ETFs could be attractive to capture further upside if the upcoming jobs data comes in soft.<\/p>\n
The upcoming U.S. jobs number is the critical inflection point. We remember how the final jobs report of 2025 surprised to the upside, temporarily strengthening the dollar, so a similar outcome could trigger a sharp reversal. A strong report showing over 200,000 jobs added would challenge the rate cut narrative, while a weak number below 150,000 would solidify it.<\/p>\n
Given this binary risk event, buying straddles or strangles on major pairs like EUR\/USD could be a prudent strategy. This allows traders to profit from a large price move in either direction once the employment data is released. The quiet start to the year is an opportunity to position for the volatility that is almost certain to arrive next week.<\/p>\n
Create your live VT Markets account<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0start trading<\/a>\u00a0now. <\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Portugal’s business confidence rose, currencies fluctuated, gold steadied, and Cardano showed bullish trends into 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":16963,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-live-updates"],"acf":{"acf_article_selection_author":null},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\t\t