This week, trading volumes were lower, partly because U.S. markets were closed on Monday and both Mainland China and Hong Kong were also shut.

In Japan, Prime Minister Takaichi secured a decisive victory over the weekend, as her recently called election delivered a landslide majority for the Liberal Democratic Party – a feat that has eluded many leaders in recent years.

After months of negotiations that ultimately toppled two prime ministers, France has finally secured parliamentary approval for a national budget. The breakthrough was made possible when the Socialist Party signalled it would stand aside, provided certain concessions were made.

This week, investors are focused on the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting, which began on Tuesday and concludes this evening UK time with an interest-rate decision. Rates currently sit within the range of 3.5-3.75%.

For the first time since September, UK inflation has risen. Headline CPI came in for the month of December at 3.4%, with an increase in tobacco prices accounting for a large portion of the latest rise, alongside rising food costs.

Over in Iran, what started as anger over the sharp collapse of the Iranian rial has broadened into a wave of dissatisfaction with the country’s leadership more generally, with protests and fatalities characterising the past few weeks.

With scant economic data for investors to pour over as the new year gets started, all eyes have turned to the recent U.S.-Venezuela upheaval. On Saturday, the world woke to news that President Donald Trump had authorised a raid of Venezuela overnight, capturing the current President Maduro and his wife on alleged narco-terrorism charges.

This morning, UK headline CPI for November was released, coming in below expectations at 3.2%, down from 3.6% in October. The slowdown was driven by weaker food and core goods inflation, which helped ease overall price pressures.

This week, traders have the Fed’s last monetary policy meeting of the year in focus (a decision will be made by Wednesday). The Fed has a duty to cater to their dual mandate of stability in price growth and maintain strength in the labour market.

On Monday, fresh data showed that China’s factory activity improved marginally in November, although it remained in contractionary territory. The composite PMI slipped to 49.7, signalling ongoing weakness – since readings above 50 indicate expansion, while those below reflect contraction.