Wayne McDonell on trading JPY during the year

EUR/USD posts modest gains above 1.1650 in the European session on Monday. The prospect of a US Federal Reserve rate cut at its December meeting on Wednesday keeps the US Dollar undermined across the board, supporting the pair amid strong German Industrial Production data. Eurozone Sentix Investor Confidence data is next in focus. 

GBP/USD kicks off the new week on a subdued note and oscillates in a narrow trading band above 1.3300 in European trading on Monday. The pair, however, remains close to the highest level since October 22, with bulls awaiting a sustained strength on a potential dovish Fed verdict due later this Wednesday. 

Gold sticks to its modest intraday gains through the early European session, though it lacks bullish conviction and remains confined in a one-week-old trading range. The growing acceptance that the US Federal Reserve will lower borrowing costs again this week keeps the US Dollar depressed near a one-month low and acts as a tailwind for the non-yielding yellow metal.

Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple record a minor recovery on Monday, starting the week on a positive note. The retail demand for major cryptocurrencies remains strong despite outflows from Bitcoin and Ethereum Exchange Traded Funds.

Silver just hit a new all-time high. Neither did gold, nor mining stocks. They all reversed on an intraday basis, but silver’s move to new highs makes it still bullish overall, while the almost complete reversals in gold and miners make the latter technically bearish.

The US Dollar (USD) weakens against its major rivals on Monday, with the USD Index staying in negative territory below 99.00 following two consecutive weeks of losses. The European economic calendar will feature Sentix Investor Confidence data for December later in the session.