Markets roared with confidence, following the US actions in Venezuela, toppling the leader. This opens the huge resources of the Country to the West and more particularly controlled production and distribution, through the USA. Venezuela has great natural resources, including the largest oil reserves in the world and huge stores of precious metals. Equity markets surged, while Geo-Political developments are not yet completely apparent. It will impact global trade and the international balance of resource allocation. The US Dollar was steady, although the EUR slipped back towards 1.1700, the GBP jumped to 1.3530.Commodity currencies were beneficiaries, with the AUD consolidating above 0.6700, while the NZD looks to regain 0.5800. Markets will digest the ongoing fall-out from the US actions, along with the plethora of economic data, as trade opens for the first full week of 2026.
