Good evening and welcome to Markets Desk.
The question rattling currency desks and reserve managers alike is whether the United States is losing its safe-haven standing. The Netherlands' central bank is now following France in repatriating gold held in New York, a quiet but pointed signal that confidence in American custodianship is eroding. When central banks move physical gold, they are voting with their vaults.
Shifting from macro to markets, GitLab is giving the bears something to think about. The developer platform posted a strong quarter and raised its forward guidance, two moves that together suggest the business is scaling with discipline rather than desperation. That combination of revenue momentum and improved outlook is exactly what skeptics said they weren't seeing — and now they are.
And keeping an eye on energy, crude has had a volatile ride through two thousand twenty six, surging early in the year before pulling back sharply. Middle East geopolitical tension remains the primary variable driving that swing, and with no clear resolution in sight, traders are pricing in a wide range of outcomes heading into the back half of the year. Volatility in oil tends to travel — watch it closely.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
