The United States dollar remains strong as gold experiences significant volatility in the early European trading session on Wednesday (October 22, 2025). There have been no fundamental changes; the looming government shutdown is expected to end this week, while renewed trade negotiations with China continue to be a primary driver of the financial markets.
GOLD
The price of gold (XAUUSD) briefly rallied to US$4,161 per troy ounce at the beginning of European trading before retreating closer to today’s low of US$4,004 per troy ounce.
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Gold has faced profit-taking since Tuesday, nearly breaking below US$4,000. The anticipation of the US government shutdown resolution this week, combined with easing tensions between the US and China, has diminished gold’s appeal as a safe haven asset. Consequently, after a remarkable 67% rise this year, gold is seeing a significant correction.
This sentiment is likely to continue impacting gold’s movement throughout today’s trading, suggesting that profit-taking may persist.
OIL
Oil prices (CLS10) have seen a reduction in gains after reaching US$58.47 per barrel earlier. This development indicates that oil prices remain under pressure due to concerns about weak demand in the future, primarily arising from ongoing economic uncertainties.
When economic forecasts are unstable, oil demand is likely to falter as well, creating negative sentiment in the market.
EURUSD
The EURUSD pair fell to 1.15826 at the beginning of the European session after briefly climbing to 1.16157. This decline suggests that the US dollar is gaining strength, attributed to expectations that the government shutdown will end this weekend.
Additionally, the concerns regarding regional bank defaults in the US are dissipating, further lending positive sentiment to the dollar while applying pressure on the EURUSD.
GBPUSD
The GBPUSD pair dropped by 581 points (58.1 pips) to 1.33054 as trading commenced in Europe, weighed down by negative sentiment from the release of UK inflation data. The inflation rate for September was reported to have grown by 3.8% year-on-year (YoY), matching last month’s growth but falling short of the Trading Central forecast of 4%.
Meanwhile, core inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, rose by 3.5% YoY, below the forecast of 3.7% and down from August’s 3.6% YoY increase.
The slowdown in core inflation potentially opens the door for the Bank of England (BoE) to lower interest rates. If this trend continues, there’s a significant chance that rates may be cut soon.
Such expectations regarding rate cuts cast a negative outlook on GBPUSD.
USDJPY
The USDJPY pair traded within a range of 151.484-151.955 at the start of the European session after a sharp increase on Tuesday. The US dollar is still supported by positive sentiment, while the yen is facing negative pressure following Sanae Takaichi’s appointment as Japan’s Prime Minister.
Takaichi is the first female PM in Japan and is likely to be pro-fiscal stimulus. When stimulus measures are introduced, the money supply increases, leading to a depreciation of the yen. Thus, the upward momentum for USDJPY is expected to remain robust.
NASDAQ
The Nasdaq index fell to 25,207 at the start of the European session after previously rising to 25,337. The decline was influenced by negative sentiments stemming from a drop in Netflix shares following an earnings report that fell short of analysts’ expectations.
As one of the largest companies in the Nasdaq, the decline of Netflix had a considerable adverse impact, indicating that the Nasdaq may continue to face pressure during tonight’s trading session.
