Next week's macro outlook: The Federal Reserve minutes may secretly hint at interest rate cuts next year

On December 27, last week, despite the holiday season in the external markets, gold, silver, and platinum prices all surged to record highs, continuing the historic rally of precious metals at the end of the year. Amidst the resonance of risk aversion sentiment and expectations of interest rate cuts, spot gold repeatedly hit new all-time highs, reaching nearly $4550 per ounce on Friday, with a total increase of over 70% this year. Silver’s performance was even more aggressive, breaking through integer thresholds and setting new records, with a high of over $79 per ounce on Friday, surging more than 10% in a single day. On Tuesday at 03:00, the Federal Reserve released the minutes of the monetary policy meeting; on Wednesday at 21:30, the US initial jobless claims for the week ending December 27; on Friday at 22:45, the US December S&P Global Manufacturing PMI final reading. Investors are looking forward to the US stock market ending 2025 with strong momentum next week, thus closing another robust year. Major US stock indices are expected to close higher in December, after the market recovered from earlier volatility caused by weakness in tech stocks earlier this month, which was driven by concerns over spending in the artificial intelligence sector.