The Federal Reserve minutes become the market focus next week, precious metal prices reach new highs

Despite the closure of external markets due to the Christmas holiday, the prices of gold, silver, and platinum have all reached historic highs, continuing the strong year-end rally in precious metals. As New Year's Day approaches next week, global financial market liquidity is expected to remain at low levels, with trading volumes significantly below normal, and the start of 2026 market activity may not occur until the second week of January. The main events attracting market attention include: on Tuesday (December 30) at 03:00 (UTC+8), the Federal Reserve will release the minutes of its monetary policy meeting; on Wednesday at 21:30 (UTC+8), the number of initial jobless claims in the US for the week ending December 27; and on Friday at 22:45 (UTC+8), the final value of the US S&P Global Manufacturing PMI for December. Due to the Christmas and New Year holidays, there are no public speeches scheduled by Federal Reserve officials or major central banks next week. The minutes of the Federal Reserve's December meeting will be the focal point, with investors looking for clues about the timing of interest rate cuts and policymakers' views on inflation.