Forex Today: Markets remain quiet to begin 2026
Here is what you need to know on Friday, January 2:
Financial markets remain in holiday mood as the first trading day of the new year gets underway. The economic calendar will not offer any high-tier data releases on Friday and trading volumes could remain thin heading into the weekend.
US Dollar Price This week
The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed major currencies this week. US Dollar was the strongest against the New Zealand Dollar.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | 0.24% | 0.18% | 0.27% | 0.37% | 0.10% | 1.23% | 0.56% | |
| EUR | -0.24% | -0.06% | 0.04% | 0.14% | -0.14% | 0.99% | 0.33% | |
| GBP | -0.18% | 0.06% | 0.25% | 0.20% | -0.08% | 1.05% | 0.39% | |
| JPY | -0.27% | -0.04% | -0.25% | 0.12% | -0.16% | 0.95% | 0.31% | |
| CAD | -0.37% | -0.14% | -0.20% | -0.12% | -0.23% | 0.86% | 0.19% | |
| AUD | -0.10% | 0.14% | 0.08% | 0.16% | 0.23% | 1.13% | 0.47% | |
| NZD | -1.23% | -0.99% | -1.05% | -0.95% | -0.86% | -1.13% | -0.66% | |
| CHF | -0.56% | -0.33% | -0.39% | -0.31% | -0.19% | -0.47% | 0.66% |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the US Dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent USD (base)/JPY (quote).
Following a modest recovery to end 2025, the US Dollar (USD) Index holds its ground in the European morning on Friday and fluctuates in a tight range above 98.00. Meanwhile, US stock index futures rise between 0.3% and 0.7% following the decline seen earlier in the week. On Monday, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) will publish the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) data for December.
Gold registered large losses ahead of the New Year break but managed to regain its traction on Friday. At the time of press, XAU/USD was trading near $4,380, rising more than 1% on a daily basis.
Similarly, XAG/USD stages a decisive rebound toward $74 and gains more than 3% on the day. Still, Silver is down nearly 7% for the week and remains on track to snap a five-week winning streak.
EUR/USD holds steady at around 1.1750 after edging lower in the first half of the week. Sentix Investors Confidence data for January will be featured in the European economic calendar later in the session.
After dropping to its lowest level in over a week and testing 1.3400 on the last day of 2025, GBP/USD reversed its direction and erased a large portion of its weekly losses. The pair stays relatively calm early Friday and trades above 1.3450.
Following Monday's decline, USD/JPY closed in positive territory for two consecutive days. The pair continues to stretch higher and trades near 157.00 early Friday.
Gold FAQs
Gold has played a key role in human’s history as it has been widely used as a store of value and medium of exchange. Currently, apart from its shine and usage for jewelry, the precious metal is widely seen as a safe-haven asset, meaning that it is considered a good investment during turbulent times. Gold is also widely seen as a hedge against inflation and against depreciating currencies as it doesn’t rely on any specific issuer or government.
Central banks are the biggest Gold holders. In their aim to support their currencies in turbulent times, central banks tend to diversify their reserves and buy Gold to improve the perceived strength of the economy and the currency. High Gold reserves can be a source of trust for a country’s solvency. Central banks added 1,136 tonnes of Gold worth around $70 billion to their reserves in 2022, according to data from the World Gold Council. This is the highest yearly purchase since records began. Central banks from emerging economies such as China, India and Turkey are quickly increasing their Gold reserves.
Gold has an inverse correlation with the US Dollar and US Treasuries, which are both major reserve and safe-haven assets. When the Dollar depreciates, Gold tends to rise, enabling investors and central banks to diversify their assets in turbulent times. Gold is also inversely correlated with risk assets. A rally in the stock market tends to weaken Gold price, while sell-offs in riskier markets tend to favor the precious metal.
The price can move due to a wide range of factors. Geopolitical instability or fears of a deep recession can quickly make Gold price escalate due to its safe-haven status. As a yield-less asset, Gold tends to rise with lower interest rates, while higher cost of money usually weighs down on the yellow metal. Still, most moves depend on how the US Dollar (USD) behaves as the asset is priced in dollars (XAU/USD). A strong Dollar tends to keep the price of Gold controlled, whereas a weaker Dollar is likely to push Gold prices up.
Author
Eren Sengezer
FXStreet
As an economist at heart, Eren Sengezer specializes in the assessment of the short-term and long-term impacts of macroeconomic data, central bank policies and political developments on financial assets.
