Traders Overlook the CPI – North American Session Market Wrap for January 13

[Ben Graham]

Log in to today's North American session Market wrap for January 13

It seems that CPI day turned out to be less about the data itself and more about what lies beneath the surface.

Perhaps the as-expected release minimized volatility—Core CPI cooled to 2.6%, a very decent report, especially given the skepticism surrounding the previous soft print.

However, with another critical inflation report (PPI) looming tomorrow, traders may simply be keeping their powder dry waiting for further confirmation.

Asset classes traded in a chaotic fashion. We saw a classic knee-jerk rally in stocks and a drop in the Dollar upon release, only for both to violently reverse course.

The selloff in Stocks actually accelerated towards the end of the session, particularly for the Dow Jones.

Surprisingly, the US Dollar finished at the top of the FX major board today. This could be partly attributed to NY Fed President Williams' late-session comments yesterday, indicating the Fed is comfortable with interest rates at "near neutral" levels.

However, the bid is likely driven more by geopolitical tension in Iran.

In the Metals complex, traders seem to be searching for direction, with most assets seeing low volatility or minor corrections. Silver however, remains the outlier.

The short squeeze appears to be continuing even without a broader metals rally, with the commodity tagging $89.13 before retreating.

This looks like max pain for shorts—if this marks the capitulation point, we could see a broader calming of the rally. We will monitor this closely tomorrow.

The two asset classes that truly stole the show today were Cryptos and Oil.

• Crypto: Digital assets are finding renewed attraction as inflation cools and traditional assets sit at extreme valuations. This breakout comes after a 1.5-month consolidation, suggesting a technical coiled spring was ready to release.
• Oil: Supply fears have finally gripped the market. After the post-Venezuela drop to $55, WTI surged to trade around $62 today. Markets are now aggressively pricing in the risk of supply disruption from the revolts in Iran.
  

As mentioned before, this Iran theme is also putting a bid under the US Dollar as a safe-haven, potentially being the next leg of the Freedom Trade to continue last week's trend.

Discover:

• Fed Chair Powell is Under Attack – Silver (XAG/USD) and Gold (XAU/USD) Fresh All-Time Highs
• Traders are Moving Past Powell's Investigation - US Stock Index Outlook & Pre-CPI Trading Levels
• Key Support Holds for GBP/USD as Traders Eye US Inflation and UK GDP

Stock Market Heatmap – A very mixed picture

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Market Close Heatmap – Source: TradingView – January 13, 2026

Cross-Assets Daily Performance

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Cross-Asset Daily Performance, January 13, 2026 – Source: TradingView

Cryptos and Oil steal the show.

Apart from the US Dollar and a timid rally in US Treasuries, all other assets were sold off amid slow but nascent profit-taking. It will be key to check if this continues.

A picture of today's performance for major currencies

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Currency Performance, January 13, 2026 – Source: OANDA Labs

The US Dollar keeps shining again despite the relatively soft CPI report with the CAD following closely.

Once again, the Yen finishes last still hurt by the Snap Election (Fiscal Recklessness) prospects. More to come on this throughout the week.

A look at Economic data releasing throughout this tonight and tomorrow's sessions

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For all market-moving economic releases and events, see the MarketPulse Economic Calendar.

Tonight’s session wraps up with a major health check for China as its Trade Balance hits the tape.

Markets are eyeing the $113.6B surplus target, with Imports projected to grow at 0.9%. Given the tight trade link, any Chinese demand surprise will spark immediate volatility in the Antipodeans (AUD and NZD).

But tomorrow's session (Wednesday, January 14) is the true main event:

Early Morning (03:00 – 03:20 A.M. ET) | Heavy Central Bank speech session starts with back-to-back speeches from BoE’s Taylor (03:00 A.M.) and ECB’s De Guindos (03:20 A.M.).

Expect them to echo the recent "full solidarity" statement supporting Fed Chair Powell's independence following political pressures.

The North American Session

• US Retail Sales (08:30 A.M. ET): Consensus is eyeing a 0.4% MoM gain
  
• US Producer Price Index (PPI) (08:30 A.M. ET): Headline PPI and Core PPI (expected at 2.6% YoY) serving as the final inflation puzzle piece for the week.
• Fed Speakers & Beige Book (10:00 – 14:10 ET): The afternoon features a barrage of five Fed speakers (Paulson, Miran, Bostic, Kashkari, and Williams). This culminates in the Fed Beige Book (14:00 ET), which will provide the "prophecy" on regional economic health ahead of the next rate decision.

Safe Trades and good luck for PPI!

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