Trading conditions thinned as year‑end and Christmas holidays approaching, with low liquidity and intraday moves slightly as a result. Macro catalysts were limited, so markets focused on residual Fed‑rate repricing, patchy global data, and geopolitical risk, while attention began to shift towards US, UK, and Canadian GDP releases and policy minutes due in the following week.
The US dollar traded in relatively narrow ranges, ending the week modestly firmer against a basket of majors as mixed US data and ongoing “cuts versus inflation” debate kept the policy path uncertain.
The euro was mixed, the pound briefly strengthened after UK labour data and a “hawkish cut” narrative around the Bank of England, and the Swiss franc quietly benefited from safe‑haven flows.
Commodity currencies such as CAD and AUD mostly ground sideways as weak Chinese data and choppy oil offset each other, while the yen underperformed despite the Bank of Japan finally delivering a historic hike.
The Bloomberg Commodity Total Return Index extended its positive 2025 performance, rising about 1.6% on the week and pushing to its highest level since mid‑2022, with metals doing most of the heavy lifting.
Precious metals stayed in demand: gold climbed roughly 2.6% and silver and platinum jumped more than 8%, helped by a softer dollar, lower yields, and continued allocation flows.
Agriculture gained around 1.2% as grains and softs (wheat, soybeans, sugar, cotton) firmed, while cocoa lagged as earlier extreme tightness continued to normalise; energy again underperformed on diesel and demand concerns.
Global equity indices were largely muted in headline terms but showed selective strength beneath the surface, consistent with year‑end risk consolidation. US and European benchmarks rebounded from the prior week’s wobble, helped by lower near‑term volatility and improved sentiment, while Asia was mixed. Chinese and Hong Kong markets remained constrained by weak data and cautious policy, whereas Japanese and some ASEAN markets held firmer alongside resilient risk appetite.
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