Gold prices kept to a tight range in Asian trade on Wednesday after rising optimism over early interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve drove a strong melt-up in prices through December. 

The yellow metal blew past key levels in recent sessions, and was now trading less than $100 below a record high hit at the beginning of the month. Gold’s recent rally was triggered by the Fed signaling it was done raising interest rates, and that it will trim lending rates in 2024. 

Oil climbed more than 2% on Tuesday to its highest level this month, as further attacks on ships in the Red Sea prompted fears of shipping disruptions and on hopes of interest rate cuts that could boost economic growth and fuel demand.

Brent crude futures settled $2, or 2.5%, higher at $81.07 a barrel, after rising as much as 3.4% during the session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose by $2.01, or 2.7%, to $75.57.

The dollar index fell on Tuesday and the euro hit a more than four-month high as investors waited on fresh clues to when the Federal Reserve is likely to begin cutting interest rates as inflation falls closer to the U.S. central bank’s 2% annual target.

Volumes were muted the day after Christmas, however, as markets in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong, among others, were still out for a public holiday. Many traders globally are also out for holidays until the New Year.

Momentum continues unabated, the recent milestone of surpassing 50 million nonzero-balance addresses confirms this thesis. This landmark achievement not only reflects growing user adoption but also hints at the widespread recognition of Bitcoin as a legitimate asset class. With the average holding per user now around $16,000, the implications for future price performance are significant.

The recent all-time high reached by Bitcoin underscores the robust confidence of investors and users alike. This level of participation is indicative of a maturing market that has gradually shifted from speculative trading to broader acceptance and usage. As more users continue to hold Bitcoin, the network effect intensifies, which could potentially lead to even higher price points.

The U.S. dollar edged lower in early European trade Thursday ahead of key growth data, while sterling continued to fall in the wake of rapidly cooling U.K. inflation.

At 04:30 ET (09:30 GMT), the Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, traded 0.1% lower at 102.010, down almost 2% so far this year.

Gold prices moved little in Asian trade on Thursday, sticking to a trading range established over the past week as markets speculated over just when the Federal Reserve will begin trimming interest rates.

The yellow metal stuck to a range between $2,000 and $2,050 an ounce seen over the past week. While dovish signals from the Fed helped the metal break above the $2,000 an ounce level, it struggled to make further gains as risk appetite improved and as traders second guessed expectations for early rate cuts from the Fed.

The U.S. dollar edged higher in early European trade Wednesday, while sterling slumped as rapidly cooling inflation lifted expectations of Bank of England rate cuts next year.

At 03:05 ET (08:05 GMT), the Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, traded 0.1% higher at 101.894, not far removed from its recent four-month low of 101.76.

Oil rose nearly 2% on Monday as investors worried about disruptions to maritime trade and supply costs after the Iran-aligned Yemeni Houthi militant group attacked ships in the Red Sea.

A Norwegian-owned vessel was attacked in the Red Sea on Monday and oil major BP (NYSE:BP) said it had temporarily paused all transit through the water. Other shipping firms said over the weekend that they would avoid the route.

Bitcoin (BTC) remains at an inflection point, with the price slipping by 1.18% to $41,148.47 at the time of writing. Despite the consensus among analysts that Bitcoin might be in a bull market cycle, top market expert Ali Martinez has an important network metric that must be closely watched in the drive toward a full-blown bull cycle.

According to Martinez, there has been a "noticeable dip in Bitcoin network growth" over the past month. This, according to him, is casting doubt on the sustainability of Bitcoin’s recent move to $44,000. It is worth noting that Bitcoin soared as high as $44,705.52 on Dec. 8 as the hype surrounding the Bitcoin ETF hit a new high.

The U.S. dollar slipped against the euro on Monday, extending last week's fall, as the U.S. currency remains under pressure from the Federal Reserve's signaling last week the possibility of interest rate cuts next year.

The dollar was higher against the yen as the Bank of Japan (BOJ) kicked off a two-day meeting that could be crucial in determining the timing of the end of the central bank’s ultra-loose stance on interest rates.