Silver hits an all-time high. The US natural gas prices reach a 2-year peak

By Friday, the Dow Jones (US30) rose by 0.61% (weekly +4.16%), the S&P 500 (US500) gained 0.54% (weekly +4.47%), and the Nasdaq (US100) closed 0.78% higher (weekly +5.37%). The US stocks ended November in positive territory. Risk appetite remained strong amid an 80-85% probability of a Fed rate cut in the coming weeks. Volatility increased during the day after a technical glitch at CME: a cooling system failure at the Chicago data center temporarily disrupted futures trading, causing unstable price feeds for many liquidity providers.

The Canadian dollar strengthened above 1.40 per USD, reaching a monthly high. Support came from stronger‑than‑expected Q3 GDP data, coinciding with US dollar weakness on rising Fed easing expectations.

Mexican peso firmed to 18.32 per USD, its highest since July 2024, as labor market resilience supported Banxico’s stance of maintaining tight monetary policy. October 2025 unemployment remained at 2.6% – slightly above 2.5% a year earlier, but below the expected 2.8% and the six‑month average, signaling labor market stability.

Bitcoin (BTC/USD) fell more than 4% to $86,000, returning to April lows amid a new wave of digital assets sell‑offs. The decline was exacerbated by corporate factors: Strategy Inc. CEO Phong Le said the company may sell part of its Bitcoin holdings to finance dividend payments. A warning from Yearn’s X about a liquidity pool issue (yETH) sparked fresh concerns in DeFi. Bitcoin fell 17% in November.

European markets mostly rose on Friday. Germany’s DAX (DE40) gained 0.29% (weekly +2.39%), France’s CAC 40 (FR40) closed 0.29% higher (weekly +1.15%), Spain’s IBEX 35 (ES35) rose by 0.06% (weekly +2.57%), and the UK’s FTSE 100 (UK100) ended 0.27% higher (weekly +1.90%). ECB minutes showed policymakers are in no rush to cut rates, given heightened economic uncertainty.

Silver (XAG/USD) price rose more than 1% above $57/oz on Monday, setting a new all‑time high. The rally was driven by supply constraints and expectations of imminent Fed easing. Inventories at warehouses linked to the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell to their lowest in nearly a decade, raising concerns about metal availability.

The US natural gas prices (XNG/USD) climbed above $4.7/MMBtu, nearing the highest level since December 2022. Gains were supported by cold weather in key consumption regions. Winter conditions have already hit parts of the Midwest and East Coast. The European Centre model also expects significant early‑December colds in the same regions. LNG exports added further support: November shipments from US terminals averaged 18 bcf/day, surpassing the previous record.

Asian markets broadly rose last week. Japan’s Nikkei 225 (JP225) gained 2.04%, China’s FTSE China A50 (CHA50) rose by 1.09%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (HK50) added 1.60%, and Australia’s ASX 200 (AU200) gained 1.44% over five days. Chinese stocks rose for a third straight day, nearing multi‑year highs, supported by optimism around AI development and related investments. However, further gains were capped by weak macro signals: manufacturing PMI fell for the eighth consecutive month, highlighting ongoing industrial pressure.

The New Zealand dollar traded near a monthly high, supported by hawkish signals from the RBNZ. Last week, the central bank cut the refinancing rate by 25 bp to 2.25%, its lowest since June 2022, but indicated the easing cycle is essentially over. Updated prognoses assign only a 20% probability of another cut in 2026.