Get ready for an agitated FOMC Week – Markets Weekly Outlook

Ben Graham · 2 horas atrás

Discover our Weekly Market Outlook, exploring themes and events that forged financial flows throughout the week.
This week was forged by renewed geopolitical tensions (EU-US, Greenland, Davos) and although it's easing, the tension is not going down.
Get ready for next week's action by exploring upcoming events across global Markets.

Week in review – Geopolitical turmoil pursues

Another week, another spectacular Trump-related volatility event.

After threats to the Fed Chair Powell and the Capture of the Venezuelan President, President Trump wanted some more spice.

And the spice he gave: Over the weekend, the President threatened many European Nations and leaders with additional tariffs until the US can buy Greenland – a striking demand right as the World Economic Conference was commencing in Davos.

The event featured many references and speeches toward a New World Order, one characterized by greater powers (China, US, Russia) expanding their grip. In contrast, others unite – the end of the Rules-Based order of the past 25 years.

The best speech is easily Canadian PM Mark Carney's, which suits the current geopolitical landscape perfectly—a must-watch.

Luckily for the world as we know it (or at least NATO as we know it), Trump backed off his rhetoric and cancelled tariffs that would have been implemented on February 1 – the tone has largely abated since, even if some worries remain.

The higher tensions did not come without a bit of Market Volatility – Stock Markets across the world suffered losses from 1% to 3% as investor sentiment degraded.

After all, the Venezuela Capture opened possibilities that would scare anybody: Threats are not all threats; they can turn into harsh realities.

Luckily, Trump offered yet another TACO to Wall Street, and they ate at their satiety. Stock Markets are closing the week way closer to their all-time highs.

The late session is offering some profit-taking, but Equity benchmarks have recovered most of the correction.

Weekly Performance across Asset Classes

weekly perf 230126 — Weekly Asset Performance – January 16, 2026 – Source: TradingView

Metals have shone brightly throughout the week, all gapping higher at the weekly open and extending to continuous record highs as the week progressed.

Even Trump's latest TACO didn't scare Gold and Silver bulls, who have brought the precious metals to, or very close to, their following milestones ($100 for XAG/USD and very close to $5,000 for Gold).

Except for Stocks, which have remained resilient throughout the chaos, the US Dollar took a gigantic hit as Trump's latest show was not well received by participants. The Dollar Index is down 2% on the week and not showing any signs of slowing its descent.

Natural Gas was also a high performer, squeezing amid the Coldest week in North America, supply bottleneck fears over EU-US Beef, and other factors (which I invite you to check in our recent in-depth analysis).

The energy commodity went up by about 70% in the span of a week, in a move that traders haven't seen in a while.

Screenshot 2026-01-23 at 3.11.45 PM — Natural Gas (ETF) 1H Chart – January 23, 2026 – Source: TradingView

Next week shouldn't be much less volatile – Some weekend angst regarding Iran and a general tense atmosphere is raising the temperature. Particularly as the FOMC approaches and Trump prepares to announce the next Federal Reserve Chair.

Discover More:

The Week Ahead – January FOMC/BoC Meetings, the next Fed Chair and more tension

Asia Pacific Markets – Australian and Japanese Inflation

Next week should be (relatively) calmer for APAC traders, nevertheless, one can never be too innocent as assets and currencies fly up and down.

The Aussie Dollar will be in front of the scene, leading G7 FX Currencies in a fast-paced run throughout the week.

AUD got boosted by a hot-economy, strong jobs and persistent inflation. About the latter, the Australian CPI will be closely monitored on Tuesday evening (19:30 ET).

Check out our latest AUD/USD analysis to learn more.

On the other side of the performance spectrum, the Yen was hurting throughout the entire week before the Ministry of Finance of Japan ran a rate check (Calling banks to know Market rates – a diplomatic move to show that they are watching ongoing developments and usually precede actual interventions.)

USD/JPY quickly took a turn lower, going from 159.20 to the current 155.00 in a stellar drop – this would somewhat help the JPY after a disastrous performance.

usdjpy 1h 2301 — USD/JPY 1H Chart, January 23, 2026 – Source: TradingView

Traders will learn more on inflation trajectory (and rate hike expectations) next week with the Tokyo CPI, releasing on Thursday evening (18:30).

Apart from these key events, keep an eye on NZD trade data on Wednesday and the Chinese NBS PMIs on Friday evening.

Europe and UK Markets – Inflation Expectations, GDP and speeches

Next week will be a calmer one for Europe after a high-intensity WEF.

Inflation and Business expectations will be published throughout the week for Switzerland and the Eurozone.

To accompany the releases, Friday should be quite active with GDP releases for many EU nations including France, Germany, and preliminary GDP data for the Eurozone.

In between GDP releases, keep an eye on Unemployment Rate data and CPI for Germany.

North American Markets – FOMC Meeting and Bank of Canada

Traders attention will be focusing right back to North America, particularly looking at recent Trump rhetoric and upcoming events.

Releases will provide some views on economic data, with B-tier releases spanning from Durable Goods to Housing Price Indexes and more.

Of course, keep a close eye on the PPI data releasing on Friday morning, only high-tier data of the week (8:30 A.M.)

The Bank of Canada will begin the celebrations on Wednesday morning (9:45 A.M.) with their rate decision, which should be a non-event but looking at recent volatility, it will be very interesting to see how Governor Macklem tackles the situation.

Loonie traders should also pay attention to Canadian GDP on Friday morning.

Not much later on Wednesday (14:30), the classic FOMC will be taking Markets by its hands – Waiting for the event could either be a long, slow walk or a high-paced seesaw adventure depending on what happens over the week.

Of course, keep a very close eye on any announcements regarding the Next Fed Chair as the decision could be released anytime and it will be market-moving!

And as always these days, keep news in check – things could be heating up in Iran with the latest ammassing of military assets in the Middle East.

iran tweet 2301 — Latest News regarding Iran – Source: X, Iran International

Next Week's High Tier Economic Events

next week calendar 23301 — For all market-moving economic releases and events, see the MarketPulse Economic Calendar. (High-tier data only)

Safe Trades and enjoy your weekend!

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