Market Overview: Precious metals surge, Japanese Yen faces pressure, cryptocurrencies rebound slightly

On December 26, the global financial markets once again showed a divergence trend, with gold and silver both hitting record highs, while the Japanese yen faced adjustment pressures. Currencies of emerging markets such as the Philippine peso also experienced fluctuations.

Precious Metals and Forex Markets: Geopolitical Tensions Boost Safe-Haven Demand

Silver led the rally, soaring to a high of $75.15 per ounce, with an intraday increase of 4%; gold followed closely, approaching $4531 per ounce, up nearly 1%. Market analysis suggests that the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, ongoing tensions in the Middle East, and the Federal Reserve’s continued rate cut expectations have all increased the appeal of precious metals as safe havens. Silver’s gains outpaced gold, mainly due to persistent supply tensions globally.

Affected by Japan’s inflation data coming in below expectations, Japan’s December Tokyo core CPI rose by 2.3% year-on-year (lower than the expected 2.5%), fueling expectations that the Bank of Japan will delay interest rate hikes. The USD/JPY exchange rate rose to 156.42, causing the yen to weaken. This change also impacted regional currencies such as the Philippine peso, with some Southeast Asian currencies facing similar depreciation pressures.

Commodity Futures: Copper Prices Hit New Highs, Institutional Outlook Optimistic

Copper prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange surged over 3%, reaching $5.80 per pound, a new 5-month high. More notably, the London Metal Exchange copper price hit a record high of $12,276 per ton on December 24. Citigroup is optimistic about the copper market, forecasting that the average LME copper price in Q2 2026 will reach $13,000 per ton, with an optimistic scenario possibly pushing it to $15,000 per ton. The main driver is U.S. stockpiling, leading to supply shortages in other regions.

The three major stock index futures opened with mixed results: Dow futures fell slightly by 0.14%, S&P 500 futures rose by 0.02%, and Nasdaq 100 futures increased by 0.10%. Popular tech stocks performed well, with NVIDIA rising 0.66%, and storage-related stocks broadly gaining, with Micron Technology up 2.41% in pre-market trading.

Crypto Assets: Weak Rebound, Uncertainty for the New Year

Bitcoin (BTC) is at $91.25K, up 1.42% intraday; Ethereum (ETH) is at $3.14K, up 1.17%. Although crypto assets are showing signs of a rebound, industry insiders are not optimistic about the so-called “Christmas rally.” Paybis co-founder stated that due to year-end tax settlements and risk position adjustments, significant market movements are unlikely before January. The market may need to wait until the New Year effect to see stronger rebound momentum.