Gold prices surged to fresh record highs on Monday, January 12, 2026, with spot gold climbing above $4,600 per ounce during early Asian and European trading. The move capped a strong start to the week for precious metals and reflected a clear shift in investor mood, as uncertainty around the global economy and rising geopolitical tensions pushed more money into traditionally safer assets.
Gold prices have remained well supported in recent sessions, not because of a single headline or sudden shock, but due to a steady build-up of uncertainty across global markets. One of the quieter contributors has been Venezuela, where economic and political strain continues to remind investors why gold still matters when confidence starts to weaken.
As 2025 drew to a close, markets continued to digest the after-effects of aggressive policy shifts in prior years. Q4 2025 didn’t bring new shocks but instead reinforced themes that had been building throughout the year. The quarter provided a moment of relative stability across asset classes, with monetary policy becoming clearer but fiscal constraints coming into sharper focus. This piece explores how Q4 played out across markets, what 2025 taught investors more broadly, and what 2026 may have in store – through a lens of cautious realism rather than bold forecasting.
Bitcoin has taken a sharp turn lower after hitting an all-time high near $126,000 in October. Today, it’s trading below $95,000, which is a drop of about 25%.
In Q3 markets pivoted sharply on policy divergence. The Fed signalled an imminent easing cycle, while many governments moved toward fiscal restraint. Growth and employment weakened enough in the US to prompt a late-September rate cut, even as fiscal policy pulled back.
