This is not advice on investment, only data and brief analysis
Below is an in-depth weekly price & fundamental analysis covering WTI crude oil, the top-5 forex pairs (EUR/USD, GBP/USD, USD/JPY, AUD/USD, USD/CHF) and the top-5 cryptocurrencies (BTC, ETH, BNB, XRP, SOL). I report what happened this past week (price moves and the biggest news), explain the fundamental drivers, list the most important news you could look for next week (information only — not price forecasts).
1) WTI crude oil (NYMEX)
Price action this week (what happened):
WTI traded in the high-$50s to low-$60s during the week, with intraday spikes tied to inventory headlines — the EIA reported a surprise crude draw midweek that briefly lifted prices, but overall sentiment remained subdued.
Key fundamentals & related news that moved the market:
Inventory / supply story: The EIA's recent outlook raised U.S. production forecasts and highlighted growing global crude stocks into Q4, keeping a structural oversupply narrative prominent. That outlook was widely referenced as a weight on crude.
Bank forecasts / medium-term outlooks: Large banks (JPMorgan cited) reiterated lower medium-term price scenarios driven by faster non-OPEC+ supply growth than demand, reinforcing the cautious fundamental backdrop.
Weekly inventory swings: Weekly API/EIA surprises remain the fastest short-term price catalysts; a surprise draw pushed prices up briefly this week, but the broader supply narrative limited follow-through.
What to watch (info only):
Weekly API (private) / EIA (official) inventory releases (timing), any OPEC+ statements on production/compliance, and China demand indicators (PMI, import flows).
2) Forex — top 5 pairs
Note: for each pair I report recent moves, the primary fundamental driver(s) this week, and the key items to keep on a watchlist next week.
EUR / USD
This week's move: EUR traded bid against a weakening dollar during mid-week, helped by softer U.S. macro and dovish commentary that pushed rate-cut bets higher.
Main fundamentals : Dollar weakness driven by rising Fed-cut expectations and thin holiday liquidity amplified moves; euro moves were second-order to DXY and euro-area data.
Watch next: U.S. macro prints that re-shape Fed timing, ECB comments and Eurozone flash PMIs.
GBP / USD
This week's move: Sterling had a stronger week overall (notably a weekly bounce around the UK budget and relief headlines), finishing with modest gains versus the dollar. Reuters coverage flagged a best-week in months amid budget relief.
Main fundamentals : UK fiscal/budget headlines (tax measures, spending) and shifting BoE expectations combined with dollar moves drove much of sterling's action.
Reuters
Watch next: UK budget follow-through, any BoE speaker signals, and U.S. Fed-related developments that move the dollar.
USD / JPY
This week's move: The yen was volatile; Japanese officials signalled readiness to intervene and public comments about intervention surfaced, while global yields and dollar dynamics also moved the pair.
Main fundamentals : Intervention rhetoric, domestic political/fiscal discussion around the yen, and U.S.–global yield movements were the dominant drivers.
Watch next: Any concrete intervention actions or new official guidance, and U.S. Treasury/yield moves that push risk-sensitive flows.
AUD / USD
This week's move: AUD was sensitive to China data and the broader dollar trend; with the dollar softening at times, commodity-linked AUD saw intermittent strength. However China's factory signals remain a headwind.
Main fundamentals : China PMI/industrial data and global risk appetite, combined with USD flow, drove AUD action.
Watch next: China activity data (PMIs, trade) and global risk sentiment (equities/real yields).
USD / CHF
This week's move: The franc showed safe-haven demand at points while the dollar's swings influenced USD/CHF; headlines referencing safe-haven flows were present.
Main fundamentals : Dollar moves, global risk sentiment, and any persistent safe-haven flows into CHF.
Watch next: Risk-off triggers and any central-bank or Swiss official commentary that might alter CHF flows.
3) Cryptocurrencies — top 5
I report recent price behavior, the main fundamental/flow story this week, relevant headlines, and what to monitor next.
Bitcoin (BTC)
This week's move: BTC saw notable outflows from spot ETFs during the month and choppy price action this week, with outflows flagged as heavy in November. Observed cumulative ETF withdrawals for the month.
Main fundamentals : ETF flows (inflows/outflows) have been the dominant short-term driver — record outflows in November were widely reported and linked to price weakness. Macro risk sentiment and real-yield moves also mattered.
Watch next: Daily/weekly ETF flow tallies and large exchange flows; macro headlines that change risk appetite.
Ethereum (ETH)
This week's move: ETH experienced pronounced volatility and a substantial pullback when ETF outflows accelerated mid-month — there noted a ~14% drop from a weekly high after ETF outflows and weaker network activity.
Main fundamentals : Spot-ETF outflows for ETH and a deterioration in on-chain activity (fewer active addresses/fees) were cited as central reasons for the weakness.
Watch next: ETH ETF flow updates, DeFi and Layer-2 activity metrics, and broader equity/crypto sentiment.
BNB (Binance Token)
This week's move: BNB's price action was dominated by exchange/news flow — uptake or listing stories and exchange sentiment drove intraday moves (no single macro driver like ETFs for BTC/ETH).
Main fundamentals : Binance-specific developments, exchange volumes and newsflow.
Watch next: Major exchange announcements, listing/newsflow on Binance, and overall market risk appetite.
XRP
This week's move: XRP saw pockets of demand in some venues even as crypto outflows impacted many tokens; ETF appetite and listing/regulatory shifts were highlighted as drivers of relative activity.
Main fundamentals : Listing/regulatory developments and venue-level demand, plus any legal/regulatory headlines lingering in the background.
Watch next: Exchange-level flows and any regulatory or listing announcements that can change liquidity patterns.
Solana (SOL)
This week's move: SOL experienced episodic flows: some ETFs tied to SOL/XRP saw uptake even as BTC/ETH ETFs had outflows; SOL's price reacted to both ETF flows and general tech/crypto risk appetite.
Main fundamentals : ETF interest in SOL, developer/on-chain activity and macro sentiment.
Watch next: ETF flow reports for SOL, developer metrics and any exchange listings/venue flows.
Short list of the most important headlines this week (sources)
EIA raised U.S. output forecast and highlighted global inventory growth into Q4, cited repeatedly as weighing on oil.
JPMorgan published medium-term oil price projections that underline supply growth in non-OPEC regions as a key structural factor.
Dollar moves and Fed-cut expectations were prominent — Reuters coverage showed the dollar's large weekly swings as markets re-price Fed easing.
Japan officials and intervention talk (yen) surfaced in comments and analysis, creating volatility in USD/JPY.
Reuters
Crypto ETFs saw large outflows in November, with BTC and ETH spot ETFs registering significant withdrawals — these flow headlines were widely cited as the proximate reason for crypto weakness.
My brief commentary (explanatory, non-prescriptive)
Cross-asset linkage remains front and center. This week reinforced how quickly flows and rate expectations transmit across commodities, FX and crypto. A surprise inventory print on oil, a fresh wave of ETF outflows in crypto, or a verbal nudge from a currency official can create outsized short-term moves because many participants are trading on positioning rather than new long-term fundamentals.
Flows drive crypto; supply narratives drive oil; policy expectations drive FX. Those three short phrases summarize the dominant mechanics I observed this week: exchange and ETF flows explained abrupt crypto moves; agency and bank supply/demand narratives explained oil's background weakness; and Fed/official remarks and intervention talk led FX moves.
Volatility and liquidity remain elevated at times. Holiday and thin-liquidity windows plus occasional operational outages (reported elsewhere this month) amplify moves. That makes reading the why behind each headline essential: a headline-driven spike often looks different in structure from a demand/supply pivot.