Traders usually like the first trading week of the year because it wastes no time in getting back to action as ISM, NFP, ADP and other key data are released.
The release of those FOMC minutes added a special flavor of extra volatility, in bolstering the possibility for a March rate hike (86% chance) and in making a June hike a slam dunk (so far).
For gold bugs, XAU/USD survived another hard data test, by holding above the August trendline support, while the Gold bugs ratio remained capped as did the gold/silver ratio—both positive end-of-week developments for XAU/USD and XAG/USD. Finally, the positioning among gold net longs remains above the previous trendline resistance, now turning into support.
10-year yields posted their biggest percentage weekly gain since the 1st week of 2021...yes, exactly 52 weeks ago. As for USDJPY, I make the case for 120 and 123 in this video.