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Happy New Year, especially to Venezuelans! Monday early FX rates guide | investingLive

Good morning, afternoon or evening to all ForexLive traders and welcome to the start of the back from holidays FX week!

Some of us will have unpacked the car after a week or so at the beach and what have you. Some of us will have invaded Venezuela.

Big news to open the year, summary:

  • US forces carried out a surprise, large-scale operation to seize Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro

  • The mission involved roughly 150 aircraft and disabled Caracas’ air defences

  • Maduro was detained at his residence and flown to a US aircraft carrier within hours

  • He was later transferred to New York after Trump publicly confirmed the capture

Early FX pricing shows limited market response, so far at least:

  • EUR-USD
    1.1724
  • USD-JPY
    156.81
  • GBP-USD
    1.3462
  • AUD-USD
    0.6679
  • USD-CAD
    1.3741
  • USD-CHF
    0.7918
  • NZD-USD 0.5760

The operation sharply raises geopolitical risk across Latin America, with potential spillovers into oil markets. Globex will open in around 2 hour, at 6pm US Eastern time, 2300 GMT.

Before adding more detail on Venezuela events, my usual caveat on early pricing … As is usual for a Monday morning, market liquidity is very thin until it improves as more Asian centres come online … prices are liable to swing around, so take care out there.

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After months of escalating pressure on Caracas, US forces launched a highly coordinated operation that resulted in the seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in the early hours of Saturday morning. The operation, codenamed Absolute Resolve, followed a prolonged period of military build-up in the Caribbean and repeated warnings from Washington over Maduro’s alleged role in drug trafficking to the United States.

According to US officials, the mission was the culmination of months of planning and rehearsal. Around 150 aircraft took off from roughly 20 airbases across the region, forming the backbone of a rapid strike designed to neutralise Venezuelan defences and extract the country’s leader within a tightly controlled timeframe. General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the operation had been rehearsed extensively to ensure speed and precision.

In the opening phase, US forces disabled Venezuela’s air-defence and communications systems. President Donald Trump later claimed that Caracas was plunged into widespread darkness due to what he described as US “technical expertise”, though no further details were provided. Residents in the capital reported a series of loud explosions as the initial strikes unfolded.

At 2:01am local time, US helicopters landed at Maduro’s residence in Caracas. Maduro and his wife were taken into custody, though US officials have not confirmed whether there was any exchange of fire or resistance during the operation.

Just over two hours later, at 4:29am, Maduro was transferred to a US aircraft carrier, the USS Iwo Jima, and flown toward the United States. Trump later posted an image on his Truth Social account showing the Venezuelan leader blindfolded and dressed in a grey tracksuit.

Following his departure from the carrier, Maduro was escorted on a flight that landed at Stewart Air National Guard Base in New York later that afternoon. The operation marks one of the most dramatic US interventions in Latin America in decades and is likely to have far-reaching geopolitical, legal, and market implications.

By the time you’ve read down here some of the rates have changed, its thin and scatty out there!