Insights

Weekly Market Commentary – 9th January

9 January 2026

This week markets were remarkably calm in the face of dramatic US intervention in Venezuela. President Donald Trump’s Caribbean adventures had little immediate impact on global markets. The pledge to take control of Venezuela’s oil industry and the seizure of a handful oil tankers may cause a headache for countries trying to get round sanctions, but they barely influenced global oil prices. Venezuela holds vast oil reserves, but its annual output is modest (around 1% of global production) and boosting capacity would require substantial time and investment. The only sign of movement in defensive assets was in the rising price of gold.