2025-01-14 06:03
Jan 14 (Reuters) - Crypto-focused bank Sygnum secured a valuation of $1 billion after raising $58 million in its latest funding round, it said on Tuesday. The round was backed by bitcoin-focused venture capital firm Fulgur Ventures, with participation from current and new investors. Some of the company's employees also participated in the round. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT The deal emphasizes the recovery of the crypto industry, which is regaining its footing as investor sentiment improves following a downturn sparked by tighter monetary policy and the collapse of FTX. CONTEXT The company, which has headquarters in both Zurich and Singapore, lets its institutional users trade crypto tokens and borrow against their crypto assets. It also provides digital asset custody and allows customers to earn interest on their crypto holdings. It does not cater to retail users. Sygnum was registered in Liechtenstein in September and is aiming to get access to all markets in the European Union and the European Economic Area this year. The latest funds will be used to expand its footprint in Europe and launch in Hong Kong, the company said, adding that it will also invest in its infrastructure and product lineup. Sygnum said revenues across its trading products — such as crypto spot, derivatives, foreign exchange and traditional securities — had surpassed the previous year's total by the third quarter of 2024. KEY QUOTES "Sygnum has focused on its home markets in Europe and Asia and has no current plans to enter the U.S. market with our own entities," said Mathias Imbach, co-founder and group CEO of the company. "The U.S. developments for positive crypto market reform are, however, highly encouraging ... Sygnum is exploring other options to benefit from this trend and will update the market once these are sufficiently developed, for example, partnerships and M&A." Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/technology/sygnum-hits-1-bln-valuation-after-latest-funding-round-2025-01-14/
2025-01-14 06:01
Investors await CPI data on Wednesday Euro in positive territory, yen weakens Fiscal worries sill weigh on pound Jan 14 (Reuters) - The dollar weakened against the euro on Tuesday but stayed near its highest level in more than two years as cooler-than-expected inflation data following last week's strong jobs report made it hard to project the Federal Reserve's next moves on interest rates. Data showed U.S. producer prices increased moderately in December. Investors had already started to scale back bets on rate cuts as potential U.S. tariffs remained in the spotlight. The greenback pared gains later in the session as traders cautiously awaited Wednesday's consumer price index report. Investors have been closely watching economic data to see if it supports the Fed's cautious stance on rates. "It's possible that traders are hedging the other side of the market now before CPI tomorrow, so we're seeing some pre-release volatility that's keeping the dollar a touch depressed," said Helen Given, associate director of trading at Monex USA in Washington. "Tariff stories are the primary driver, it appears, for price action today." Traders are pricing the first rate cut in September, but less than the 50 basis points the Fed projected in December. With President-elect Donald Trump set to begin a second term next week, the focus has been on his policies that analysts expect will boost growth and price pressures. The threat of tariffs along with fewer Fed rate cuts priced in has lifted Treasury yields and supported the greenback. However, on Tuesday the market refocused on the chance that U.S. tariffs may be raised gradually, after a Bloomberg report suggested the U.S. could take a measured approach. Trump's Treasury pick Scott Bessent is expected to keep a leash on U.S. deficits and use tariffs as a negotiating tool, mitigating the expected inflationary impact of the U.S. economic policy. Brad Bechtel, global head of FX, at Jefferies, said while the CPI report is important, "all eyes (are on) Trump and the new administration." Still, Matt Weller, head of market research at StoneX, said Wednesday's CPI reading "will ultimately be more significant for the central bank and therefore traders, who will be looking for a corresponding cool reading as a green light to buy up risk assets." The dollar index , which measures the greenback versus six other currencies, was down 0.14% at 109.25, shy of the 26-month high of 110.17 it reached on Monday. It hit 114.78 in October 2022, its highest since 2002. The euro was up 0.51% at $1.0297. It touched $1.0177 on Monday, its lowest level since November 2022. The single currency dropped more than 6% in 2024 as investors fretted about tariff threats and the monetary policy divergence between the Fed and the European Central Bank. The British pound , down 0.04% at $1.2198 against the dollar, also touched a 2-1/2-month low versus the euro as concerns about Britain's fiscal challenges continued to weigh. The dollar rose 0.26% against the yen to 157.89, with traders bracing for next week's Bank of Japan policy meeting, for which markets are pricing in 57% chance of a hike. Some analysts flagged that the most important forex market battleground right now is the dollar/yuan – as the People's Bank of China (PBOC) manages to hold the line even as depreciation pressure intensifies. The PBOC has unveiled a flurry of measures in recent days to support its weak currency. The yuan was flat, changing hands at 7.3454 per dollar on Tuesday. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/dollar-clings-2-year-high-us-rates-tariffs-focus-2025-01-14/
2025-01-14 05:54
MUMBAI, Jan 14 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee weakened to its lifetime low on Tuesday, pressured by strong dollar bids spurred by the maturity of positions in the non-deliverable forwards (NDF) market while likely intervention by the Reserve Bank of India capped losses. The rupee declined to 86.5950 against the U.S. dollar, inching past its previous lifetime low of 86.5825 hit on Monday. The dollar index was up 0.1% at 109.6, hovering close to a two-year peak, while Asian currencies were mostly stronger on the day. Traders said the RBI likely sold dollars aggressively just prior to the opening of the local spot market, amid strong interbank dollar demand spurred by the maturation of positions in NDF market. Traders expect the rupee to remain on a depreciation trajectory in the near-term because of persistent strength in the dollar and sustained foreign portfolio outflows. Foreign investors have net sold more than $4 billion worth of local stocks and bonds over January so far. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/rupee-slips-record-low-maturity-ndf-positions-spurs-dollar-bids-2025-01-14/
2025-01-14 05:47
VLCC rates for Mideast to China up 39% since Friday Shipping costs for Russian ESPO Blend to China more than double - S&P Global Fleet tightness could worsen if shadow fleet seeks new vessels - Kpler SINGAPORE, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Supertanker freight rates jumped after the U.S. expanded sanctions on Russian oil trade and sent traders rushing to book ships to pick up supply from other countries to go to China and India, shipbrokers and traders said. Chinese and Indian refiners are seeking alternative fuel supplies as they adapt to severe new U.S. sanctions on Russian producers and tankers designed to curb the world No. 2 oil exporter's revenue. Many of the newly targeted vessels, part of a "shadow fleet", have been used to ship oil to India and China, which snapped up cheap Russian supply that was banned in Europe following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Some of the tankers have also shipped oil from Iran, which is also under sanctions. Freight rates for Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) that can carry 2 million barrels of crude across major routes jumped after Unipec, the trading arm of Asia's largest refiner Sinopec (600028.SS) , opens new tab, chartered several supertankers on Friday, industry sources said. On a daily basis, a shipbroker said, the rate on the Middle East to China route, known as TD3C, has surged 39% since Friday to $37,800, the highest since October. Shipping rates for Russian oil shipments to China have also jumped following the sanctions. The freight rates for Aframax-sized tankers to ship ESPO blend crude from Russia's Pacific port of Kozmino to North China more than doubled on Monday to $3.5 million as shipowners requested massive premiums due to limited tonnages available for that route, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights data. Adding to tightness, sanctioned tankers are stranded outside China's eastern Shandong province, unable to discharge following a ban imposed by Shandong Port Group before Washington's announcement on Friday. Analysts said tanker availability could tighten further as traders look for unsanctioned vessels to ship Russian and Iranian crude. "We expect new ships will be pulled into the shadow fleet over the coming months, many of which will be new to this trade, tightening supply in the non-sanctioned freight market," Kpler analysts said in a note. The rate for VLCCs from Middle East to Singapore has gained the most, up worldscale (WS) 11.15 from Friday to WS61.35, another shipbroker said. Worldscale is an industry tool to calculate freight charges. On the Middle East to China route, freight jumped to WS59.70, up WS10.40, while the rate for VLCCs carrying West African oil to China rose WS9.55 to WS61.44, the second shipbroker said. To ship crude from the U.S. Gulf to China, it will now cost $6.82 million, up $360,000 since last week, he said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/oil-shipping-rates-surge-after-us-sanctions-tighten-global-fleet-2025-01-14/
2025-01-14 05:35
A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Vidya Ranganathan France's new government faces a big test today. Prime Minister Francois Bayrou is expected to lay out in a speech the contours of a deal to water down pension reforms in return for support from the left on passing a budget. Bayrou's government, which was formed last month after the collapse of his predecessor's administration, has been trying to win assurances from some opposition parties - and the Socialists in particular - that they will not vote against its 2025 budget. Analysts expect he will win the vote. Bayrou's entourage declined to reveal details of the speech but told Reuters the content would take into account his talks with party leaders and unions. Markets are nonetheless nervous, fearing Bayrou will undo parts of the pension reform that involve raising the minimum age for a full pension, which could save billions of euros for the strapped government. The risk premium on French debt, measured by the yield gap between French and German 10-year yields , is trading near its highest levels in more than 12 years as investors worry about political instability and a burgeoning public deficit. Markets will also be trading with one eye on U.S. producer prices and items that influence the Fed's PCE deflator metric due later. That's ahead of the more important consumer price index on Wednesday, as expectations rage for inflation to pick up when President-elect Donald Trump unveils policies on tariffs, migration and taxes, as soon as at his inauguration next week. Investor nerves have been running high since Friday's unambiguously strong U.S. payrolls report sent up yields and decreased the market odds of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts. Markets are pricing just 29 basis points of cuts from the Fed this year. Ten-year Treasury yields hit 14-month highs, driving a spike in the dollar and a wave of selling in technology stocks, which spread to Asia in early trade. Japan's Nikkei slid after a holiday break and with U.S. inflation data on investors' minds. The U.S. dollar index hit its highest in more than two years on Monday, before retreating a little on a Bloomberg News report that the incoming Trump administration was discussing a gradual, rather than sudden, tariff plan. Key developments that could influence markets on Tuesday: Data: U.S. PPI Speakers: ECB's Robert Holzmann, Bank of England Deputy Governor Sarah Breeden, Riksbank Deputy Governor Aino Bunge, Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid Earnings: Games Workshop Group PLC Debt auctions: Germany reopening of 5-year, UK 30-year. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/global-markets-view-europe-2025-01-14/
2025-01-14 05:25
U.S. PPI due at 1330 GMT, U.S. CPI on Wednesday Dollar down 0.4% Platinum to be under-supplied in 2025, UBS says Jan 14 (Reuters) - Gold prices rose on Tuesday, helped by a softer U.S. dollar and inflationary risks posed by President-elect Donald Trump's potential tariff policies, which could influence the pace of Federal Reserve monetary policy easing this year. Spot gold was up 0.3% to $2,668.79 per ounce as of 1200 GMT. U.S. gold futures gained 0.1% to $2,682.30. "Gold prices are benefiting from reports that the incoming Trump administration is considering a gradual implementation of tariff increases to mitigate their impact on inflation," said Ricardo Evangelista, senior analyst at ActivTrades, referring to a Bloomberg report. "This news led to a slight decline in U.S. Treasury yields and a weakening of the dollar." The dollar index (.DXY) , opens new tab fell 0.3% from a more than two-year high hit in the last session as traders scaled back U.S. rate cut bets for 2025 after a strong jobs report. A softer dollar makes gold more affordable for buyers using other currencies. Investors are looking out for U.S. Producer Price Index (PPI) data at 1330 GMT and Consumer Price Index (CPI) numbers due on Wednesday. A Reuters poll of economists gives a median forecast for an annual rise in CPI of 2.9%, up from November's 2.7%. Also due is U.S. retail sales on Thursday for further insights into the economy and the Fed's 2025 policy trajectory. "If inflation increases again based on Trump´s spending policy, we may even see no cuts at all in the mid-term," said Henrik Marx, head of precious metals trading at Heraeus Precious Metals Germany. Bullion is used as a hedge against inflation, although higher interest rates reduce the non-yielding asset's appeal. Elsewhere, spot platinum was down 0.4% to $949.80. "We look for platinum to be under-supplied by 500,000 ounces, or 6.4% of demand, in 2025," UBS said in a note. Spot silver firmed 0.5% to $29.75 per ounce and palladium climbed 0.5% to $943.70. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/trump-policy-uncertainty-lifts-gold-us-data-focus-2025-01-14/
