Must read: December starts on sour note, oil, bitcoin

Cryptoassets are very high risk and you should be prepared to lose all your money before you invest

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GLOBAL MARKETS

After logging its strongest week in over a month, the FTSE 100 has opened December lower amid broader weakness across Europe. However, the FTSE 100 is outperforming in relative terms versus the DAX and the CAC 40. The UK blue-chip index ended November just below the flatline, snapping a four-month winning streak.

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China’s RatingDog Manufacturing PMI hit a four-month low of 49.9, missing forecasts for 50.5 and below the critical 50 boom-bust divide. Meanwhile, in Japan, the Nikkei closed sharply lower down 1.89% dragged down by some individual losers like electricals firm Fujikura.

OIL

Oil prices are staging gains this morning with WTI and Brent crude up over 2% each after OPEC+ decided to leave output unchanged. The cartel is also planning to keep production on hold during the first quarter of 2026 to help balance demand and supply and stem further weakness in the market.

Oil traders are weighing up concerns about a potential supply glut, partly fuelled by weak global demand on the downside versus the conflict in Ukraine and Western sanctions constraining supply on the upside.

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This year has been challenging for oil prices with brent crude down around 16% year-to-date after peaking above $82 in January. However, more positive price action has come back into play over the last week, thanks to OPEC’s clarity providing decision and hopes of a Fed rate cut this month. But consensus remains for further downward pressure on oil going into 2026 with the potential for Brent to break below support at $60 a barrel, a level not seen since April.

BITCOIN

Cryptocurrencies continue to suffer – bitcoin is down around 5% while Ether and Solana are down by ~6% and ~7% respectively.

After hitting an all-time high above $125k in October, bitcoin’s selling pressure shows no signs of letting up – it has plunged more than 30% since the peak and has shed more than 20% over the last month in a drastic about turn after an impressive six month supercharged rally off the April nadir.

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It feels like investors, big and small are feeling very cautious towards cryptos in the short term at least, amid fears about overvaluations in risk assets that have prompted traders to cut their positions in speculative assets like cryptos. It looks like $80k is the next major support level to watch with a break below providing a potential catalyst for further weakness.

Recent price action serves as a reminder that while investors can benefit from strong gains in cryptos, they can also be left nursing painful losses when it comes to this notoriously volatile and unpredictable asset class.