Gold and Siver fall at the EU open

Gold (-0.42%) and silver (-0.63%) are both trading marginally lower heading into the EU open as risk sentiment was positive overnight. The Nikkei 225 (2.35%) closed at its highest level since 1990 as Wall Street bourses made record highs. The ASX (0.68%) closed higher too while the Shanghai Composite (-0.17%) struggled. In the FX space, the antipodeans once again outperformed with AUD/USD (0.21%) and NZD/USD (0.28%) the best-performing pairs out of the majors.

In terms of news US politics still dominates the newswires. Outgoing US President Trump made a video condemning the actions of the protesters. Many political analysts say it is too little too late and Trump is looking to save face as he prepares for life after his presidency. Vice President Mike Pence is said to be against using the 25th amendment to oust Trump as it was suggested by various media outlets that this could be an option before Biden steps in the White House on 20th January.

Sticking with the US, tensions with China have escalated overnight as it was reported that the US confirms it's sending its UN ambassador to Taiwan. China is at odds with Taiwan and the US sending an ambassador over might anger officials in Beijing. The U.S. Trump’s administration has been supporting Taiwan with new arms sales and visits to Taipei by senior U.S. officials.

There were some central bank comments overnight, Fed’s Mester said he is optimistic about H2 2021 economic growth and it will be quite a bit stronger than 2020. We also heard from Fed's Bostic who stated the Fed may taper QE bond purchases earlier than expected.

Bitcoin once again it an all-time high printing marginally above 40K. This means the crypto major doubled in value within the month in an impressive rally.

Looking ahead to the rest of the session and highlights include the latest US job numbers (NFP), German industrial production, EU

Rajan Dhall