Week ending Sunday, February 22, 2026. Market snapshot: Friday close, Feb 20.
Commodities settled down this week after February’s earlier swings, while the Lunar New Year period in Asia shifted the focus from trading screens to what was happening in the real economy.
Spot gold finished near USD 2,042 per troy ounce, basically flat on the week as U.S. rate expectations barely moved. Silver traded around USD 23.10/oz, generally tracking gold but with little speculative interest. In base metals, LME copper closed close to USD 8,460 per metric ton, mirroring mixed Chinese demand signals in the middle of the holiday lull. Brent crude ended the week near USD 81.70 per barrel, underpinned by modest supply restraint but held back by weak refining margins.
Equity markets stayed in relatively tight ranges. The S&P 500 ended the week slightly higher, and the STOXX Europe 600 also posted a small gain. Across Asia, trading volumes were thinner as mainland China, South Korea, Vietnam, and several Southeast Asian markets ran on shortened schedules for the Lunar New Year. Currencies were calm too: the DXY hovered around 103.2, and EUR/USD stayed close to 1.08, suggesting a broadly balanced backdrop rather than a strong directional view.
In Asia, Lunar New Year activity itself told investors more about the economy than the price action did. Travel figures from China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism showed hundreds of millions of domestic trips over the holiday, underscoring the ongoing recovery in services consumption. Inbound travel to Southeast Asia also picked up versus last year, offering support to airlines and hospitality names. Overall, markets seemed to treat this as a mildly positive for growth, not the kind of demand shock that would reignite inflation concerns.
In Northern Europe, Finland stood out for two longer-term stories. One was the progress in mining exploration and development in the north, particularly around critical minerals for battery supply chains and other strategic metals. Backed by EU raw materials initiatives, these projects are expected to create jobs over time and bolster the region’s industrial base. The other was NATO’s growing footprint in northern Finland after its accession, which is now showing up in infrastructure spending and specialist hiring in areas such as logistics, defense engineering, and training. While neither theme is moving markets day-to-day, both feed into perceptions of macro stability and deepen Finland’s role in Western defense and industrial networks—factors that global investors tend to reward gradually.
Elsewhere in Asia, Singapore kept a steady policy stance after flagging a fiscal surplus, reinforcing its image as a disciplined macro manager. South Korea’s industrial exports showed early signs of finding a floor ahead of an expected upturn in the semiconductor cycle. India continued to actively manage bond issuance; yields remained relatively contained despite a still-heavy supply pipeline.
In the end, week 8 was more about consolidation than acceleration. Commodities found a middle ground, equities avoided sharp moves, and policy guidance pointed to continuity. With Lunar New Year disruptions now fading and full trading volumes set to return next week, attention is likely to swing back to inflation releases, central bank messaging, and industrial demand data to gauge whether February’s calm can carry into early spring.
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