Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama declined to comment on the reported currency checks conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Energy: 1. Iraqi Oil Ministry: Total oil exports in December reached 107.651 million barrels. 2. Kazakhstan's export lifeline recovers; CPC Black Sea terminal resumes dual-node operation. 3. US natural gas futures prices broke through $6 for the first time since 2022, surging nearly 20% intraday. 4. Market news: The Syrian Oil Company has begun producing oil in recently acquired fields; output will be shipped to the Homs and Banias refineries. 5. US President Trump: The US has recovered oil from the seized Venezuelan tanker. The Venezuelan oil will be shipped to the Houston refinery. 6. Libyan Prime Minister: Libya will sign a 25-year oil development agreement with Total Energy and ConocoPhillips to attract over $20 billion in foreign investment. 7. US Department of Energy: Issued two emergency orders today to mitigate the risk of power outages in New England and Texas during Winter Storm Fern. Precious Metals and Mining: 1. British media: The Trump administration plans to inject $1.6 billion into USA Rare Earth. 2. U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC): In the week ending January 20, COMEX gold speculators increased their net long positions by 2,614 contracts to 139,162 contracts, while COMEX silver speculators decreased their net long positions by 3,719 contracts to 11,326 contracts. COMEX copper speculators decreased their net long positions by 493 contracts to 61,682 contracts. 3. Precious metals saw a strong rally, with spot gold breaking through the $5,000 mark, surging over $100 to near $5,100 at one point during the day. Spot silver briefly approached the $110 mark, rising over 5% intraday. Spot platinum surpassed $2,800 for the first time. Middle East Situation: 1. The U.S. aircraft carrier strike group "Abraham Lincoln" has arrived in the Middle East. 2. Iran warns the US that it will attack US aircraft carriers if it is subjected to military strikes.

The Nikkei 225 index opened down 793.58 points, or 1.47%, at 53,053.29 on Monday, January 26.