Although last week brought important data, including the nonfarm payrolls report, and some market moves, the more significant development was a change in the foreign exchange market. We had previously believed that the dollar faced the risk of a substantial decline, against the backdrop of what we saw as the weakening U.S. military strength and overall national power demonstrated by its strikes on Iran. But with recent moves in the U.S. bond market proving increasingly difficult to control, there is now reason to suspect that maintaining the dollar’s relative strength would better serve the United States’ broader interests. From a technical perspective, the dollar may also be entering a new phase. The U.S. Dollar Index is an important reference point for assessing the dollar and the broade

Weekly Overview Treasuries are the market’s pricing anchor. With the 10-year Treasury yield above 5%, equities, gold, and crypto assets all need to be reassessed in light of high-rate pressure. The Treasury Department’s earlier buybacks failed to reverse the trend in long-dated bonds. A peak in yields still needs confirmation. If oil remains range-bound, and with the two remaining rate hikes expected this year already priced in, the rise in yields may slow. But an escalation in U.S.–Iran tensions or more hawkish statements from the Fed could change that assessment. The conditions for a bond rebound are building. CTAs’ positioning in 10-year Treasuries is low, while speculative net positions in 10-year Treasuries have moved from deeply bearish to neutral, increasing the possibility of a bon

The Federal Reserve raised rates by 25 basis points in September, lifting the target range for the federal funds rate to 3.75%–4.00%. With inflation pressure prompting a shift in policy, rate expectations have again become a key driver of asset prices. Options positioning on September 25 showed a defensive tilt even as Nasdaq 100 futures rebounded: traders added near-the-money puts. Gold call positions expanded at higher strikes alongside downside protection, while new Bitcoin call positions appeared to reflect a short-term test of the upside. Against the backdrop of the rate hike, traders have not moved uniformly toward risk. The next question is whether prices can confirm the signals at key levels. The charts below show trading volume and open interest across major CME Group futures opti

Gold: The Short-Term Structure On September 28, with gold trading around $4,228.615, down approximately 0.06%, my short-term view was bearish. Central-bank gold purchases and concerns about U.S. government debt remained longer-term sources of support, but a stronger dollar and elevated Treasury yields were exerting more immediate pressure on gold.$微型10年美債收益率主連 2609(10Ymain)$ $微型30年美債收益率主連 2610(30Ymain)$ $30年美債主連 2612(ZBmain)$ $10年美債主連 2612(ZNmain)$ On the 30-minute chart, gold formed a swing high near 4,318, then made a series of lower high

A large 85,000 Bitcoin put order hit the market, while Gold’s defensive floor moved higher. Is the market about to turn? The option changes on September 22 show that open interest in Gold calls continued to expand. In Silver, traders maintained upside exposure at higher strikes while accelerating purchases of downside protection. In Bitcoin, however, new positions on both sides remained too small to be meaningful. This suggests that expectations for further upside in precious metals have not disappeared, but protection against pullbacks and volatility is becoming more expensive. Gold: Calls Still Dominate as Defensive Positioning Moves Higher Gold call open interest increased by a net 8,354 contracts, exceeding the 6,116-contract increase on the put side. Total call open interest stood at

The market did not take long to choose a short- to medium-term direction. Last week, gold and crypto assets both surged, making it clear that the market had entered a new phase of rebound. The previous trading logic can therefore be carried forward naturally, and risk assets are expected to remain resilient through the period before the fourth quarter. The only factor requiring particular caution is the speed of the advance. The logic chain of crypto assets—gold—risk assets changed slightly during last week’s trading. Following the news that the U.S. Treasury would purchase bonds, gold reacted most quickly. However, in terms of both absolute gains and the pace of appreciation, Bitcoin and Ethereum—whose volatility is inherently higher—soon staged a catch-up move and outperformed the earlie

Since Bitcoin rebounded to $83,000 earlier this month, the crypto market has been steadily losing momentum. By this week, Bitcoin had slipped back toward $73,000, while Ethereum was hovering near $2,000. But the more important signal is not just the price decline itself. A closer look at market structure suggests that the bid behind crypto is weakening. Across institutional flows, ETF demand, on-chain cost levels and derivatives positioning, the same message is becoming harder to ignore: buyers are stepping back. Institutional Flows Were the First to Turn The first place to look is institutional capital. In mid-May, digital asset investment products recorded $1.07 billion in weekly outflows, ending a six-week streak of inflows. Bitcoin products accounted for $982 million of those outflows,

Macro Theme: De-escalation and “Unstable Peace” as the Core Pricing Driver Although last weekend’s White House dinner shooting incident attracted significant attention, it did not create any material impact, and markets were not disrupted at the start of the week. Meanwhile, the ongoing “Middle East saga” continues steadily, and the U.S. decision not to arrange “in-person” negotiators suggests that the intermediary model has shifted toward “remote” communication. If no surprise attacks occur within the next one to two weeks, it can largely be concluded that this tug-of-war style “peace” will persist until around the midterm elections, when potential changes or turning points may emerge. The three potential models and scenarios of U.S.-Iran negotiations have already been discussed in previo