Foreign Exchange, Gold and Oil

Foreign exchange is the largest and most liquid financial market in the world. Holdings of gold are estimated to be about US$12.6tn (Q4 2025 – gold.org). The oil market is the world’s most important commodity market.

Data source: Yahoo Finance via the RiskSnap Cloud Run FX endpoint.

Oil data source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (DCOILWTICO); Yahoo Finance (CL=F) thereafter.

A spot price embeds expectations of future economic events and pricing models include market risk factors for these events. Gold is included because it often trades as a monetary asset alongside major currencies. The U.S. dollar remains the dominant reserve and transaction currency, appearing on one side of most foreign exchange trades. Exchange rates reflect relative economic growth, inflation, monetary policy, capital flows and geopolitical developments.