Powell speech: Pandemic is a disinflationary shock

EUR/USD moves sideways in a narrow channel below 1.1800 as the market volatility remains low ahead of the New Year holiday. On Tuesday, investors will pay close attention to the minutes of the Federal Reserve's December policy meeting.

GBP/USD corrects lower after posting strong gains in the previous week and trades below 1.3500 on Monday. With the action in financial markets turning subdued following the Christmas holiday, however, the pair's losses remain limited.

Spot Gold traded as high as $4,550 a troy ounce on Monday, fueled by persistent US Dollar weakness and a dismal mood. The XAU/USD pair was hit sharply by profit-taking during US trading hours and retreated towards $4,300, where buyers reappeared.

Ethereum treasury firm BitMine Immersion continued its ETH buying spree despite the seasonal holiday market slowdown. The company acquired 44,463 ETH last week, pushing its total holdings to 4.11 million ETH or 3.41% of Ethereum's circulating supply, according to a statement on Monday. That figure is over 50% lower than the amount it purchased the previous week.

After a year marked by global economic resilience and ending on a note of optimism, 2026 looks promising and could be a year of solid economic performance. In our baseline scenario, we expect most of the supportive factors at work in 2025 to continue to play a role in 2026.

Year 2025 was volatile, as crypto often is.  Among positive catalysts were favourable regulatory changes in the U.S., rise of Digital Asset Treasuries (DAT), adoption of AI and tokenization of Real-World-Assets (RWA).