Gold trades lower for the second consecutive day on Friday, although price action remains broadly confined within recent ranges, with downside attempts still finding support around the $4,500 region per troy ounce. Market volatility stays relatively subdued heading into the weekend, as traders await fresh developments surrounding the US-Iran conflict before taking stronger directional positions.
United States CFTC Oil NC Net Positions climbed from previous 169.9K to 172.6K
Gold trades lower for the second consecutive day on Friday, although price action remains broadly confined within recent ranges, with downside attempts still finding support around the $4,500 region per troy ounce. Market volatility stays relatively subdued heading into the weekend, as traders await fresh developments surrounding the US-Iran conflict before taking stronger directional positions.
United States CFTC Gold NC Net Positions fell from previous $171.6K to $159.8K
Gold trades lower for the second consecutive day on Friday, although price action remains broadly confined within recent ranges, with downside attempts still finding support around the $4,500 region per troy ounce. Market volatility stays relatively subdued heading into the weekend, as traders await fresh developments surrounding the US-Iran conflict before taking stronger directional positions.
United Kingdom CFTC GBP NC Net Positions declined to £-64.3K from previous £-43.1K
Gold trades lower for the second consecutive day on Friday, although price action remains broadly confined within recent ranges, with downside attempts still finding support around the $4,500 region per troy ounce. Market volatility stays relatively subdued heading into the weekend, as traders await fresh developments surrounding the US-Iran conflict before taking stronger directional positions.
Australia CFTC AUD NC Net Positions climbed from previous $85K to $85.6K
Gold trades lower for the second consecutive day on Friday, although price action remains broadly confined within recent ranges, with downside attempts still finding support around the $4,500 region per troy ounce. Market volatility stays relatively subdued heading into the weekend, as traders await fresh developments surrounding the US-Iran conflict before taking stronger directional positions.
Fed’s Warsh says he will lead reform at the Fed
Freshly-minted Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Kevin Warsh delivered his first public speech as head of the Fed on Friday, delivering his key talking points after being sworn in.
Key Warsh highlights
Ours is a time of great consequence
Not naive about challenges we face
Will lead a reform-oriented Fed
Will learn from past mistakes and successes
Inflation can be lower, but growth is strong
These years can bring unmatched prosperity
Canada Retail Sales (MoM) came in at 0.9%, above forecasts (0.6%) in March
After recording its strongest week in two months, the US dollar traded in a consolidative manner this week, with the dollar index oscillating between 98.80 and 99.40. The greenback started Monday on a strong footing following fresh Middle East tensions, including hostile rhetoric between US and Iranian officials, as well as drone attacks.
Germany IFO – Business Climate came in at 84.9, above expectations (84.2) in May
Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple extend their recovery after recent corrective moves. BTC is trading above $77,700 after finding support around major levels, and ETH is near the key resistance zone, where a breakout could trigger further rebounds. Meanwhile, XRP approaches its upper boundary of the falling channel; a close above signals a bullish move.
Swiss Franc flattens against US Dollar as investors await US-Iran deal announcement
The Swiss Franc trades flat against the US Dollar (USD) around 0.7870 during the Asian trading session on Friday. The USD/CHF pair consolidates as investors await the confirmation of a prolonged peace deal between the United States (US) and Iran, following the announcement that both sides have reached a “final draft” with mediation from Pakistan.
As of writing, the US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback’s value against six major currencies, trades marginally higher to near 99.27.
On Thursday, market sentiment turned favorable for riskier assets after the Iranian Labour News Agency (ILNA) reported that a final draft between Washington and Tehran has been reached and a deal can be announced within next few hours.
However, Iran still seems not ready to surrender its enriched uranium and wants recognition of its authority on the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reports.
On the economic data, front preliminary S&P Global Composite PMI data for May has come in steady at 51.7 as an unexpected strong growth in the manufacturing sector activity offsets the impact of moderate expansion in the Services PMI.
In the Swiss economy, investors seek fresh cues regarding whether the Swiss National Bank (SNB) will call for an exit from its dovish monetary policy stance due to rising global inflationary pressures amid elevated oil prices.
US Dollar FAQs
The US Dollar (USD) is the official currency of the United States of America, and the ‘de facto’ currency of a significant number of other countries where it is found in circulation alongside local notes. It is the most heavily traded currency in the world, accounting for over 88% of all global foreign exchange turnover, or an average of $6.6 trillion in transactions per day, according to data from 2022.
Following the second world war, the USD took over from the British Pound as the world’s reserve currency. For most of its history, the US Dollar was backed by Gold, until the Bretton Woods Agreement in 1971 when the Gold Standard went away.
The most important single factor impacting on the value of the US Dollar is monetary policy, which is shaped by the Federal Reserve (Fed). The Fed has two mandates: to achieve price stability (control inflation) and foster full employment. Its primary tool to achieve these two goals is by adjusting interest rates.
When prices are rising too quickly and inflation is above the Fed’s 2% target, the Fed will raise rates, which helps the USD value. When inflation falls below 2% or the Unemployment Rate is too high, the Fed may lower interest rates, which weighs on the Greenback.
In extreme situations, the Federal Reserve can also print more Dollars and enact quantitative easing (QE). QE is the process by which the Fed substantially increases the flow of credit in a stuck financial system.
It is a non-standard policy measure used when credit has dried up because banks will not lend to each other (out of the fear of counterparty default). It is a last resort when simply lowering interest rates is unlikely to achieve the necessary result. It was the Fed’s weapon of choice to combat the credit crunch that occurred during the Great Financial Crisis in 2008. It involves the Fed printing more Dollars and using them to buy US government bonds predominantly from financial institutions. QE usually leads to a weaker US Dollar.
Quantitative tightening (QT) is the reverse process whereby the Federal Reserve stops buying bonds from financial institutions and does not reinvest the principal from the bonds it holds maturing in new purchases. It is usually positive for the US Dollar.
Hyperliquid hits new record high amid rising trading volumes and institutional demand
Hyperliquid’s native token HYPE surged to a fresh all-time high above $62 on Thursday, driven by strong institutional inflows and sustained momentum in decentralized perpetual futures volume.
The exchange remains the clear leader in the perpetual decentralized exchange (DEX) sector, controlling roughly 55% of total value locked (TVL) among decentralized perpetual exchanges. Its own TVL stood at $4.7 billion as of April 30, out of an estimated $7 billion across the entire sector.
Hyperliquid commands 55% of perpetual DEX TVL amid sector growth
The platform processed around $190 billion in trading volume in April alone, accounting for approximately 3.9% of total global perpetual exchange activity and placing it among the top 10 venues overall.
The rapid growth has been fueled by real-world asset (RWA) perpetuals and commodity-linked contracts, with commodities now representing about 30% of its open interest. The ability to trade assets such as Oil 24/7 has proven particularly attractive to users seeking broader market exposure.
Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley recently highlighted strong investor appetite for Hyperliquid exposure, noting $8.8 million in inflows into the Bitwise Hyperliquid ETF (BHYP) on Wednesday, alongside $18.5 million in trading volume.
Bitwise previously stated it will begin allocating 10% of the ETF’s management fees toward holding HYPE on its balance sheet. The move mirrors Hyperliquid’s own tokenomics model, where 99% of blockchain revenue is directed toward buybacks, token burns, and ecosystem incentives.
Grayscale also reportedly purchased $10 million in HYPE, adding to the surge in institutional inflows over the past week, according to on-chain data.
The platform’s rise comes amid a broader structural shift toward decentralized derivatives trading.
The top 12 perpetual DEXes recorded an average monthly trading volume of $611.57 billion in the first four months of 2026, up from $531.65 billion in 2025, according to CoinGecko’s perpetuals report on Thursday.
This growth contrasts with centralized exchanges. The top 11 perpetual CEXes saw average monthly volumes fall 34%, declining from $7.11 trillion in 2025 to $4.69 trillion year-to-date.
As a result, the perp DEX-to-CEX volume ratio remains elevated at around 10% as of April 2026, after peaking at 13% in late 2025. This signals sustained user migration toward decentralized platforms.
Perpetual DEXes are also capturing a growing share of futures positioning. Their share of total crypto open interest (OI) has climbed to 13.5% as of late April, even as overall market OI declined from $120.35 billion at the start of 2025 to $99.09 billion.
Meanwhile, exchanges like MEXC and BingX have led the way in new perpetual contract listings between January 2025 and April 2026, adding 879 and 565 pairs, respectively, with a focus on longer-tail assets.
HYPE is trading at $58, up 7% at the time of writing, with weekly gains surging to 32%. Short liquidations on HYPE futures also surged to $37 million, according to Coinglass data, with popular short trader loracle down $30 million across his HYPE short positions.