Big upside in December U.S. payrolls cements a Fed hold this month – RBC Economics

EUR/USD extends its gains for the second consecutive day on Tuesday and trades near 1.1800. The broad-based US Dollar weakness and a potential policy divergence between the European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve keep the bullish bias intact heading into the holiday season.

GBP/USD extends its weekly rally and trades at its highest level since early October above 1.3500. The US Dollar remains under persistent bearish pressure heading into the Christmas break, while Pound traders largely brush off the latest interest rate cut from the Bank of England.

Gold builds on Monday's impressive gains and advances toward $4,500, setting fresh record-highs along the way. Heightened geopolitical tensions, combined with the ongoing US Dollar (USD) selloff ahead of the Q3 GDP data, help XAU/USD preserve its bullish momentum.

Bitcoin remains under pressure, trading above the $87,000 support at the time of writing on Tuesday. Selling pressure has continued to weigh on the broader cryptocurrency market since Monday, triggering declines across altcoins, including Ethereum and Ripple.

2026 may be less about a neat “base case” and more about a regime shift—the market can reprice what matters most (growth, inflation, fiscal, geopolitics, concentration). The biggest trap is false comfort: the same trades can look defensive… right up until they become crowded.

Ripple (XRP) is stable above support at $1.90 at the time of writing on Monday, after several attempts to break above the $2.00 hurdle failed to materialize last week. Meanwhile, institutional interest in the cross-border remittance token has remained steady.