Yen Support and Gold Repatriations Spark Market Interest
US financial markets will be closed on Monday, September 7, for Labour Day. Recent market commentary has highlighted support for the yen as a measure to discourage Japanese selling of US Treasuries. This comes alongside reports that the Netherlands has repatriated around 86 metric tonnes of gold from the US and Canada to the UK and the Netherlands, with no net sales occurring in the process. Additionally, France has repatriated its remaining 129 tonnes between July 2025 and January 2026, leaving it with no gold at the New York Fed for almost a century.
The recent moves are notable as they have taken place within just 13 months of each other, marking only a handful of such episodes since WWII and Bretton Woods. In contrast to these efforts, UK-held bullion remains dollar-denominated.
Turning to market performance, Friday's jobs report showed payrolls up 162,000 versus expectations of 56,000, the strongest reading since March and above the 12-month average of +31,000. Equities in the US, Europe, and Asia ended the week unchanged to moderately lower.
Commodity prices saw some movement, with crude oil rising 10.5% from Monday's low to Thursday's high in the October futures contract. Orange juice gained almost 16% over this period, while corn, soybeans, and wheat hit multi-year highs. Gold sold off into early Wednesday but rallied later in the week, with 4755 flagged as a key level.
Bitcoin made a new weekly high but stayed below its peak from May 6, while Ethereum did not make a new weekly high. Dollar/yen tested support around 155.20.