Analysts at Aurea Gest warn of a potentially very busy and vulnerable operation that could lead to a de-escalation and point to a shift towards a regime of greater volatility where implied volatility leads to realized volatility. The CEO & Founder of the company is Ailin D. do Pazo Glave. VIX is the official name of the Chicago Board Options Exchange Market Volatility Index. When there is high volatility, the VIX reaches a high figure and correlates with falls in the S&P 500 index, indicating that there is fear and pessimism in the market and it usually coincides with lows in the benchmark index; it is at these times that strong movements occur in the stock markets, while when the VIX is at its lows, there is joy and confidence. It is calculated using a series of S&P 500 options. Although there are other volatility indices, such as the VXN for the Nasdaq 100, the RVX for the Russell 2000 and the VXD for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the VIX is the most famous and used. A global sentiment of risk aversion is characterized by a sale of shares and a repricing of sovereign debt, driven by geopolitical tensions and a reassessment of forward premiums. Flows towards safe-haven assets such as precious metals, weakening of the US dollar and regional divergences in emerging markets. Although they call it 'white gold', lithium is a commodity that is governed by supply and demand. It exceeded USD 20,000 per tonne and then, after the collapse caused by Chinese oversupply, with seven projects underway, it is heading this year for a record that will align it with traditional export complexes such as peanuts, steel and aluminum. The lithium market is a roller coaster. New York, January 20, 2026 (NA) - The President of the USA, Donald Trump, played hard again in foreign policy, by threatening eight NATO members with progressive tariffs over Greenland, but he dealt a tremendous blow to the markets, reflected in a 15.62% increase in the volatility index: VIX. Another sign of the impact caused by the measure taken by the White House was the rebound in the price of silver, of +6.05%, which even tripled that of gold, behaviors that show an increase in fear in the market and a flight towards precious metals, according to interpretations collected by the Argentine News Agency. On this side of the map, without ceasing to follow closely these speculative fluctuations, the markets set their eyes on a native investment alternative guided by other parameters: the so-called Argentine white gold, lithium, which arrives at BYMA at some $ 8,950 per Cedear (Argentine Deposit Certificates). That of Lithium Americas Corp (LAC), which replicates shares of this mining company with important projects in the USA, Canada and also in Argentina, accumulates this year rises of 32%, outside the uncertainty and volatility of the financial and stock markets of the Northern Hemisphere. Over there, one of the main concerns of this new offensive that could lead to a new trade war constitutes the deterioration of diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom and the EU. The mere possibility of applying 200% tariffs on French products raises the risk premium in European and global assets. The possibility of Europe applying its 'Anti-Coercion Instrument' remains latent; which suggests an escalation of commercial retaliation that could affect global growth. Growing volatility. The uncertainty was reflected in the VIX's climb above 19 points (highest since November), with the technology sector being the most punished (NVDA, AMD, GOOGL, META, TSLA with falls -2%), while commodities such as gold and oil rose +3.0% and 1.7% respectively, highlighted Damián Vlassich, Team Leader of Investment Strategies at IOL. Gold reached USD 4,707.40 (+2.56%) and silver USD 94.58 (+6.05%), performances that indicate a correlation with the policy announcements of the US Administration regarding Greenland. After reaching USD 80,000 per tonne in 2022, it collapsed to USD 8,500 in 2025, victim of an oversupply driven by China and its investments in Africa. However, the scenario changed drastically on Monday, January 12 of this year: the spot price in China for lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) exceeded USD 20,000 per tonne. The Secretary of Mining, Luis Lucero, projected from Saudi Arabia an ambitious horizon: by 2035, Argentina could triple its current capacity to 650,000 tonnes. If prices accompany, lithium exports could climb to the order of USD 6,000 million. In the markets, each goes its own way: another Cedear to consider is Posco (PKS), part of a holding originating from South Korea, with projects on the border between Salta and Catamarca, which trades at some $28,140 and yielded in what goes of January a 3.2%.
