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Tuesday, January 06, 2026
What’s happening: Gold prices extended gains this morning amid rising tensions between the US and Venezuela.
What happened: Venezuela continues to be in turmoil after President Nicolás Maduro was kidnapped in a US military operation over the weekend.
Demand for safe-haven assets rose amid geopolitical uncertainty, lending support to gold this morning.
Why it matters: Gold surged around 64% in 2025, driven by geopolitical concerns and monetary policy easing by the US Federal Reserve. Prospects of further internet rate cuts and buying by central banks are still lending support to the yellow metal.
Investors expect President Donald Trump to name a new Fed Chairman who has a far more dovish stance.
Over the weekend, the US abducted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, with Trump warning a second strike in case Caracas does not cooperate. Maduro and his wife pleaded ‘not guilty’ to drug and weapons charges in a New York courtroom on Monday.
Meanwhile, Trump continued to claim he was “in charge” of Venezuela and threated similar actions against Mexico and Colombia over illegal drug flows.
While gold outperforms amid geopolitical tensions and falling interest rates, strength in the US dollar limited the gains, as a higher greenback makes metals more expensive for foreign currency holders. The US dollar index, which measures the greenback’s performance versus a basket of major peers, edged higher to 98.31 this morning.
Spot prices for gold rose 0.1% to $4,453.55 an ounce this morning, after jumping close to 3% on Monday. Gold prices surged to a record high of $4,549.71 on December 26. US gold for February delivery climbed 2.8% to close at $4,451.5 an ounce on Monday.
In other metals trading, silver prices jumped 0.3% to trade at $76.8385 an ounce, extending gains from the previous session, after surging 147% last year. Platinum added 2.2% to $2,326.05, while palladium gained 1.2% to trade at $1,732.54 this morning.
What to watch: Investors will continue monitoring the situation in Venezuela and US threats against Mexico and Colombia.
Data on December’s NFP (nonfarm payrolls) from the US will be released on Friday, which would give investors further insights into the Fed’s policy outlook. US nonfarm payrolls, which surged by 64,000 in November, following a 105,000 decline in the previous month, are expected to rise by 55,000 in December.
Context: The AUD/USD forex pair rose this morning as investors digested the latest economic data.
Details: Data released this morning showed that the S&P Global Australia composite PMI declined to 51 in December from 52.6 in the previous month. The latest reading signalled growth in private sector activity for the fifteenth straight month, though the pace was the softest in seven months.
The S&P Global services PMI business activity index slipped to 51.1 in December from 52.8 in November, indicating slower growth in the service sector, due to softer growth in new businesses amid stiff competition.
Meanwhile, a recent survey of major economists by the Australian Financial Review said that inflation could remain stubbornly on the higher side this year, which led markets to price in at least two rate hikes by the Reserve Bank of Australia.
Strength in the US dollar weighed on the AUD/USD pair. The US dollar index, which measures the greenback’s performance versus a basket of major peers, rose to 98.31 this morning.
The AUD/USD forex pair gained around 0.1% to 0.6721 this morning.
What to watch: Investors await the release of economic data on building permits (0430 UAE Time), inflation rate (0430 UAE Time) and private house approvals (0430 UAE Time) from Australia on Wednesday. The number of total dwellings approved in Australia, which tumbled 6.4% to 15,832 units in October, is expected to rise by 2% in November.
Private house approvals, which dipped 2.1% to 9,251 units in October, are expected to decline by 0.5% in November. Analysts expect Australia’s annual inflation to ease to 3.7% in November from 3.8% in October.
Other Markets: US trading indices closed higher on Monday, with the Dow Jones index, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 up by 1.23%, 0.64% and 0.77%, respectively.
Russia announced five missile strikes on Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-biggest city, damaging the region’s energy infrastructure. The news sent the USD/RUB pair higher in forex trading this morning.
Philippines’ producer prices rose by 0.1% year-over-year in November, slowing from 0.5% growth in the previous month, which exerted pressure on the USD/PHP forex pair.
Singapore’s S&P Global PMI declined to 54.1 in December from 55.4 in November. Private sector activity remaining in the expansion zone for the 11th straight month sent the USD/SGD pair lower in forex trading this morning.
South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves fell to $428.1 billion in December from $430.7 billion in the previous month, lending support to the USD/KRW forex pair.
Hong Kong’s S&P Global SAR PMI slipped to 51.9 in December from 52.9 in the previous month. Private sector PMI remaining in the expansion zone sent the USD/HKD pair lower in forex trading this morning.
Brazil’s IPC-Fipe inflation (1200 UAE Time), S&P Global services PMI (1700 UAE Time) and S&P Global composite PMI (1700 UAE Time), Spain’s HCOB composite PMI (1215 UAE Time) and HCOB services PMI (1215 UAE Time), Italy’s HCOB services PMI (1245 UAE Time) and HCOB composite PMI (1245 UAE Time), France’s HCOB composite PMI (1250 UAE Time) and HCOB services PMI (1250 UAE Time), Germany’s HCOB composite PMI (1255 UAE Time), HCOB services PMI (1255 UAE Time), and inflation rate (1700 UAE Time), Eurozone’s HCOB composite PMI (1300 UAE Time) and HCOB services PMI (1300 UAE Time), UK’s new car sales (1300 UAE Time), S&P Global composite PMI (1330 UAE Time) and S&P Global services PMI (1330 UAE Time), US S&P Global composite PMI (1845 UAE Time) and S&P Global services PMI (1845 UAE Time), Mexico’s consumer confidence (1600 UAE Time), as well as Canada’s S&P Global composite PMI (1830 UAE Time) and S&P Global services PMI (1830 UAE Time).
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