3 Assets to Watch: Jan 12-16, 2026

2026 is already off to a dramatic start!

• During the first weekend of the year, US military actions in Venezuela removed President Nicolas Maduro.

• This past weekend, there have been major protests that have rocked Iran.

• Global markets were further stunned by news that the Federal Reserve - the US central bank - has been served grand jury subpoenas by the Trump administration that threaten to erode the independence of the world's most influential central bank.

Amidst this latest bout of uncertainty, no surprise that:

• Precious metals such as Gold and Silver have punched up to new record highs on greater demand for safe havens.

• The geopolitical developments within major oil producers such as Venezuela and Iran have sent Brent oil (Bybit: UKOUSD) up over 4% so far in 2026, now gaining for a 3rd consecutive day.

• The US dollar has weakened on concerns of the erosion of the Fed's independence. The weaker USD has translated into gains for dollar-denominated assets, including EURUSD+, GBPUSD+, and even Bitcoin (BTC/USDT)!

• Such heightened uncertainties and risks have lent to a risk-off mood so far this Monday, Jan 12th, which in turn is dragging US stock indices such as the SP500, NAS100, and DJ30 lower.

What's Next?

Even as investors and traders worldwide keep a watchful eye on the evolving drama on the global stage, there are still major scheduled events that markets must contend with.

This week's key events may set up a Turbulent Tuesday - the latest US inflation data and unofficial kickoff to the US earnings season, both slated for January 13th.

With all this in mind, here are 3 major assets to watch this week (January 12-16):

1) AUDUSD+ to hit new 15-month high?

• The Australian dollar (AUD) is the best-performing G10 currency against the US dollar (USD) so far in 2026 (AUDUSD up 0.5% year-to-date)

• On Jan 7th, AUDUSD+ printed an intraday price of 0.67664 - its highest level since October 7th, 2024!

• Bloomberg's FX model predicts that AUDUSD is likeliest (76% chance) to trade between 0.6634 - 0.6776 this week.

• AUDUSD could rise as the US dollar weakens if we get lower-than-expected US inflation, which allows the Fed to ponder more rate cuts in 2026 (NOTE: A currency tends to weaken at the thought of its interest rates going down, and vice versa).

NOTE: AUDUSD goes up = stronger Aussie + weaker US dollar.

2) JPMorgan to hit new record high?

• JPMorgan is the largest US bank, and is a major member of the S&P 500 and Dow Jones stock indices too.

• JPMorgan's share prices are forecast to move 3.2% up/down after the bank releases its Q4 earnings (before US markets open on Tuesday, Jan 13th).

• A 3.2% move to the upside would see a new all-time peak for this stock.

3) Monero to print fresh ATHs above $600?

• Monero (XMRUSDT) has already risen over 30% so far in 2026, now testing resistance around the psychologicaly-important $600 level.

• Monero appears to have overtaken 2025's privacy-token darling, Zcash (the latter has fallen over 20% so far this year).

• However, XMRUSDT could be ripe for a technical pullback, given that its 14-day relative strength index (RSI) is now above the 70 level which is the textbook threshold for "overbought" conditions.