Markets remain in limbo following the Christmas break, with little liquidity to be found in most trading pairs. Currencies in particular have been remarkably flat so far this week, even the Japanese Yen offering no hint of direction since Monday. European stock markets finally reopen today after observing Christmas and Boxing Day holidays, as does the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, which also enjoyed a long weekend.
Gold traders received a late gift on Tuesday as prices rose to $2067 an ounce by the closing bell, almost reaching the previous record daily close set on Friday the 1st of December. Price action exhibited a classic blow off top the following Monday, wicking all the way to $2150 before being crushed the following week. Gold has now quietly clawed back those losses to settle just under its former all-time high.
The forces pushing gold higher also spread to oil, which gained over 2% on Tuesday sending Brent Crude convincingly over $80 and West Texas Intermediate over $75 a barrel. No further escalation in the Middle East for now. Maersk reported on Sunday they would resume shipping through the Red Sea; other major shipping companies have yet to decide on their own course of action.
Despite the slow news week, we do still have something to look forward to on Thursday in the form of Jobless Claims, courtesy of the US Department of Labor. Perhaps the only point of interest this week before we enter another long weekend to celebrate the New Year.
