Last week the Middle East situation produced fresh news again — from the U.S. air strikes on Iran to Iran closing the Strait of Hormuz — as if the old script were playing out once more. We noted before that the U.S.–Iran contest is unlikely to end peacefully, and will most probably reignite in the fourth quarter. So will the current developments bring the new fighting forward? On the whole, the probability is relatively limited, because the timing on the U.S. (Trump) side is not yet fully ready, and market behavior also shows that overall sentiment remains relatively stable. From the standpoint of long-term goals, taking Iran down — or at least striking it thoroughly — is the core demand for the U.S. However, both the military situation and inflation pressure previously meant the stalemate

Amidst the current macroeconomic environment where AI and related sectors are stealing the spotlight, the performance of crypto assets this year has been exceptionally weak, failing to capture any upward momentum. The reality is that in the realm of narrative-driven assets, Bitcoin's history and storytelling capabilities are just as strong as any other asset. However, once expectations are overdrawn and fail to materialize, a return to reality is inevitable. Nevertheless, after a sustained decline, the likelihood of a short-term stabilization and a corrective rebound is increasing. $E-mini S&P 500 - main 2609(ESmain)$ $E-mini Nasdaq 100 - main 2609(NQmain)$

After Warsh replaced Powell as the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, expectations and rumors regarding an interest rate hike within the year have persisted. The substantial inflationary pressure brought about by the outbreak of the war in the Middle East has already forced multiple central banks to opt for rate hikes in response, and there is a high probability that the Federal Reserve will not go against this trend. However, looking at history, a rate hike does not signify an inevitable change in the trend; more often than not, other external crises are required to trigger a reversal in the market's trajectory. According to the latest FedWatch data, the probability of maintaining the current interest rate level at the Federal Reserve's year-end meeting is only 22%, while the combined prob

Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East saw renewed uncertainties over the past weekend, ultimately failing to reach a comprehensive agreement. However, considering that the market's sensitivity has significantly dulled, unless hostilities officially resume, this is not expected to disrupt the performance of most assets. Recently, we can shift our focus toward the foreign exchange market. Taking the US Dollar Index (DXY) as a reference, the price action is currently hovering near a crucial watershed level. Based on our long-term bearish view on the dollar, there is reason to suspect that new selling opportunities may emerge, and the DXY itself faces the risk of a bull trap. Earlier this year, the dollar once approached its 10-year long-term trendline, but the bulls ultimately defended thi

Following Trump’s announcement over the weekend that the United States is close to reaching an agreement with Iran, oil prices naturally opened with another gap lower at the start of the week. The overall trajectory of geopolitical developments is consistent with what we anticipated in April, and this phase of relative peace is likely to last through the period around the midterm elections toward year-end. Although both technicals and news flow have dealt a double blow to the market, the structural issues in the Middle East will not be fundamentally resolved as a result. Therefore, if oil prices undergo a sufficient pullback going forward, lower levels should still provide solid support. In addition, changes on the news front are unlikely to alter the broader trends of most asset classes;

Cooling Tensions in the Middle East and Shift in Market Focus As previously anticipated, with the 30/60-day overseas military operation cycle reaching its end without further escalation, the situation in the Middle East has naturally entered a phase of “unstable peace.” This implies that the primary market narrative will extend for another 1–2 quarters, and most asset classes will fall into broad range-bound fluctuations. At this stage, after a sustained rebound, crypto assets may present opportunities to sell at higher levels. Crypto assets, which had dominated market attention in recent years, reached their peak and began to decline after Trump’s second term in the White House. A major contributing factor was the “algorithmic” liquidation event in October last year. Following this event,

Trump once believed he was the only one in the market capable of “drawing K-lines with words,” but it turns out Iran has learned the same trick. From last Friday to the beginning of this week, both sides have been locked in a tug-of-war over whether the Strait of Hormuz remains open and whether to extend ceasefire negotiations, each telling its own version of the story. Judging by market reactions, investors are largely in a passive, headline-driven mode: bullish news triggers risk-on buying, while negative developments lead to risk-off selling. Based on our analysis and judgment from last week, a delaying strategy remains the most likely scenario, with the key question being whether it is short-term or a more prolonged standoff. 1.     Negotiation Tug-of-War: Tough Tal

The most closely watched development over the weekend was the progress in talks between the United States and Iran. Based on the weekend news flow, there has been some progress, but the core issues remain unresolved. Since the Strait of Hormuz was blocked a month ago, Gulf countries’ crude inventories are also nearing full capacity. If, during this two-week ceasefire window, the United States and Iran still fail to reach a better agreement that ensures safe passage through the strait, the market is likely to further lift long-term inflation sentiment, creating trading opportunities in the forward contracts of many commodities. I. Focus on the Forward Crude Oil Contract When this round of oil price gains first began, the market initially believed the blockade of the strait would be only a s

Last week, we were expecting the situation in the Middle East to stay within a relatively controllable range and, as a result, for financial markets to remain broadly stable. However, judging from last Friday’s and early this week’s surge in oil prices, even though there are still no clear signs that the war has formally widened, the risk of it spinning out of control is already on the table. If, at this critical juncture, Trump still cannot come up with a credible exit plan, both financial markets and geopolitics may be hit by a new tsunami. The impact of oil prices on the global financial system and on people’s daily lives via inflation is self-evident. Yet in just a little over a week, we’ve seen a 60% spike in prices, while the key Strait of Hormuz remains in a state of abnormal, semi‑

The much-watched Iran situation officially entered a new phase last weekend. A U.S.–Iran “hidden move” style decapitation operation quickly carried out targeted killings of Khamenei and several senior Iranian officials. Markets reacted in the usual way: gold and crude oil jumped, while stock index futures opened lower. $Gold - main 2604(GCmain)$ $E-Micro Gold - main 2604(MGCmain)$ $United States Oil Fund LP(USO)$ $WTI Crude Oil - main 2604(CLmain)$ After this knee-jerk reaction, the real question is bigger. Is the Middle East—always unstable—just going through another short shock? Or are we about to see a lon

The US dollar experienced a rebound last week, prompting us to temporarily exit our previous long positions in the Euro. However, the fundamental factors underlying the dollar have not undergone any substantial changes. Therefore, we expect the magnitude and momentum of this rebound to be limited. We will closely monitor developments this week; if price action is favorable, we may once again seek suitable non-US currencies to go long. Analyzing the weekly chart of the dollar over the past few weeks reveals signs of a pause in its downward trend. Furthermore, last week's weekly closing price returned above a crucial new long-term trendline, indicating that range-bound consolidation and volatility are likely to unfold in the near term. As long as there is no bearish engulfing pattern this we

Since the crash last October, the weakness in crypto has not eased. With ETH breaking below 2,000 last week and BTC approaching the 60,000 level, the crypto complex has essentially been abandoned by the market. This also means its value as a leading indicator is no longer valid. After last week’s wide-range swings, precious metals are expected to enter a period of back-and-forth between bulls and bears.​ Using Bitcoin as the reference point, price broke below two key levels in a relatively short time: 100,000 and 80,000/75,000. The market’s rebound attempts have been feeble and did not even reach 100,000. Price has now fallen back to the lows from before Trump was elected; if this zone also breaks, there is basically open space below. This area also marks where many ETFs initially built po

After a near-vertical rally, gold and silver were finally “punished” last Friday, with both plunging sharply in a single day. Silver, measured from its peak, even suffered a drawdown close to being cut in half. After such a violent round-trip, do ordinary investors still have a viable trading opportunity?​ From a volatility standpoint, the current environment is no longer suitable for the vast majority of retail and traditional precious-metals traders. Moves that used to take a full year can now happen in a single day or within a week. This kind of irrational volatility also means the old stop-loss logic and methods stop working. Whether you try to buy the dip or fade a rebound, there’s a high probability you’ll get stopped out. And if someone dares to skip a stop-loss to avoid getting wic