UK T-BILL AUCTION RESULTS: 1/3/6-month UKTBs

The trend condition in WTI futures remains bearish and gains are considered corrective - for now. MA studies are in a bear-mode position, highlighting a dominant downtrend. A key support and the bear trigger at $56.11, the Oct 17 low, has been breached. The break highlights a continuation of the downtrend and opens $53.77, a Fibonacci projection. Key short-term resistance to watch is $61.25, the Oct 24 high. First resistance is at $58.70, the 50- day EMA. The trend structure in Gold is unchanged, it remains bullish and another fresh cycle high reinforces current conditions. The break higher confirms a resumption of the primary uptrend. The metal has traded through the psychological $4500.0 handle and this opens $4536.0 next, a Fibonacci projection. Initial firm support to watch lies at $4281.3, the 20-day EMA. A pullback would be considered corrective.

• WTI Crude up $0.11 or +0.19% at $58.49
• Natural Gas up $0.01 or +0.29% at $4.417
• Gold spot up $12.65 or +0.28% at $4499.37
• Copper up $7.7 or +1.39% at $563.1
• Silver up $0.64 or +0.89% at $72.1317
• Platinum down $7.93 or -0.35% at $2281.49

A bull cycle in EUROSTOXX 50 futures remains intact and the latest pullback appears to have been a correction. The first key support to watch lies at 5685.07, the 50-day EMA. A clear break of the EMA would highlight a potential short-term reversal. This would open 5622.00, the Nov 26 low. For bulls, sights are on key resistance at 5847.00, the Nov 13 high. The price pattern on Dec 18 is a bullish engulfing candle - a reversal signal.  The recent pullback in S&P E-Minis appears to have been a correction. A key short-term support has been defined at 6771.50, the Dec 18 low. A break of this level would signal scope for a deeper retracement of the recent bull phase between Nov 21 - Dec 11. This would open 6737.71, a Fibonacci retracement. For bulls a continuation higher would open key resistance at 7014.00, the Oct 30 high.

• Japan's NIKKEI closed lower by 68.77 pts or -0.14% at 50344.1 and the TOPIX ended 15.88 pts lower or -0.46% at 3407.37.
• Elsewhere, in China the SHANGHAI closed higher by 20.968 pts or +0.53% at 3940.947 and the HANG SENG ended 44.79 pts higher or +0.17% at 25818.93.
• Dow Jones mini down 32 pts or -0.07% at 48730, S&P 500 mini down 4.25 pts or -0.06% at 6956.5, NASDAQ mini down 13.5 pts or -0.05% at 25799.5.

Visa restrictions launched against five European individuals, including a former European Commissioner, by the US State Department on 23 Dec for alleged 'extraterritorial censorship' comes as another blow to already-strained transatlantic relations. The measures risk fallout in other areas of policy that could have wider-ranging impacts, whether related to trade or security. 

• In a statement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio (usually seen as one of the more traditional Atlanticist Republicans in the Trump administration) said, "For far too long, ideologues in Europe have led organized efforts to coerce American platforms to punish American viewpoints they oppose. The Trump Administration will no longer tolerate these egregious acts of extraterritorial censorship."
• Former European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services Thierry Breton was hit with visa restrictions. US Under Secretary of State Sarah Rogers described him as “a mastermind of the Digital Services Act”, legislation strongly opposed by the Trump administration.
• The move was criticised by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, who said the DSA "has absolutely no extraterritorial reach and does not apply in any way to the United States. The peoples of Europe are free and sovereign and cannot have rules imposed on their digital space by others."
• With President Donald Trump's appointment of an 'envoy to Greenland' earlier in the week, resulting in a backlash from Denmark and the EU, the visa restrictions risk further damage to US-EU relations that have hit a multi-decade (if not all-time) nadir in 2025.