Off the Charts with Wayne McDonell

Gold prices keep their uptrend well in place and gear up for an imminent hit to the key $5,000 mark per troy ounce on Friday. The yellow metal’s sharp advance gathers pace amid the increasing weakness in the US Dollar and mixed US Treasury yields across the curve.

Once again, geopolitical woes were at the top of the list of market movers, and the outcome was not good for the US Dollar (USD). The Greenback was hit by uncertainty triggered by United States (US) President Donald Trump’s decisions.

GBP/USD started the week on a firm footing and continued to trade strongly as disputes between the United States (US) and the European Union (EU) over the purchase of Greenland battered the US Dollar (USD) significantly.

Bitcoin (BTC) is trading below $90,000 at the time of writing on Friday, down nearly 5% this week. Despite a brief improvement in risk appetite following US President Donald Trump’s mid-week speech at Davos, the Crypto King remains under pressure as institutional demand continued to weaken so far this week.

It was a rough week for the US Dollar (USD). Indeed, the US Dollar Index (DXY) not only gave back all its gains for the year but also slid all the way down to four-week lows below the 98.00 mark.

Fed to likely go on pause after three straight cuts. BoC is also expected to stand pat. But will Trump steal the limelight by revealing his Fed chair nomination? Eurozone GDP and Australian and Tokyo CPI to be watched too.