2023-11-09 04:03

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters. Investing.com-- Most Asian currencies moved little on Thursday as disappointing inflation data from China weighed on sentiment, while weakness in the Japanese yen saw traders on edge over any government intervention. The dollar was steady in Asian trade, sticking to a recent rebound as Federal Reserve officials continued to offer hawkish signals on interest rates. This notion also kept Asian currencies under pressure. The dollar index and dollar index futures both moved little on Thursday, with focus remaining on any more Fed signals, particularly from a talk by Chair Jerome Powell later in the day. China back in disinflation, yuan flat But more signs of economic strife in China were the biggest weight on Asian markets, as government data showed that both consumer and producer inflation shrank in October. The readings showed that China entered disinflation for the second time this year, as repeated stimulus measures from Beijing failed to meaningfully prop up spending. The Chinese yuan was flat, benefiting from several strong daily midpoint fixes from the People’s Bank of China this week. But the outlook for the currency remained dour, especially in the face of prolonged economic weakness in China. While the PBOC is now expected to roll out more liquidity measures to support growth, its options remain limited, given that Chinese interest rates are already at record lows. The central bank is also wary of causing further weakness in the yuan. Weakness in China also bodes poorly for broader Asian markets, given their dependence on the country as a trading partner. Other Asian currencies moved little on Thursday. The South Korean won rose 0.1%, while the Australian dollar was flat, steadying after seemingly dovish signals from the Reserve Bank of Australia triggered steep losses this week. The Indian rupee hovered close to record lows, and is expected to remain weak despite improving growth in the South Asian economy. The Reserve Bank of India is also expected to intervene less to support the currency, amid dwindling foreign exchange reserves, according to a Reuters poll. Japanese yen on intervention watch as 151 looms The Japanese yen was flat on Thursday, as recent weakness in the currency put traders on guard over any potential government intervention in foreign exchange markets. The yen was close to weakening past the 151 level to the dollar, which it had briefly breached last week following dovish signals from the Bank of Japan. While BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda said that an exit from the bank’s ultra-dovish policy was still possible before reaching higher wages, markets largely looked past his comments, as the outlook for the BOJ remained dovish. A widening gulf between U.S. and Japanese interest rates has also weighed heavily on the yen, with the currency now trading close to levels last seen during the onset of the lost decade in the early 1990s. https://www.investing.com/news/forex-news/asia-fx-muted-as-china-disinflation-weighs-dollar-steady-3227957

2023-11-09 01:14

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters. Investing.com -- Oil prices rose Thursday, recovering from near four-month lows although concerns over a slowdown in global crude demand remain. By 03:20 ET (xx.xx GMT), the U.S. crude futures traded 1.1% higher at $76.15 a barrel, while the Brent contract climbed 1.1% to $80.35 a barrel. Both contracts fell in the previous session to their lowest levels since late July, with Brent briefly trading below the key $80 a barrel level. Global crude demand slows Despite today’s gains, the market is on course for hefty losses this week following data from the American Petroleum Institute, an industry body, showing U.S. crude inventories registering their biggest weekly build since February, almost 12 million barrels in the week to Nov. 3. The API data signaled some cooling in U.S. fuel consumption, especially as the winter season approaches. The official numbers from the Energy Information Administration are now due next week, after being delayed. Additionally, China, the world's biggest oil importer, fell back into disinflationary territory in October, according to data released earlier Thursday, indicating that the country’s recovery is wavering despite repeated efforts from Beijing to improve economic growth. The inflation readings came just a few days after disappointing trade data from the country. While China’s oil imports still remained steady, analysts warned of a potential slowdown in crude demand, especially with high stockpiles and potentially lower export quotas for refiners. In Europe, data released this week showed weak retail sales and a downturn in eurozone business activity last month, suggesting there is a growing chance of a recession in this important energy consuming region. OPEC’s growth assurances disregarded These concerns about a slowing global economy, and thus falling crude demand, meant that bullish assurances from the Organization of Petroleum Countries were largely disregarded. The United States is doing well, while Europe is struggling, Haitham Al Ghais told the Argus European Crude Conference in London. Even China, which has emerged from lockdown more slowly than expected, forecasts growth at 4.5% to 5%, he said, outstripping Europe. "When we talk about demand and our outlook, maybe for the short term to medium term, we still see a healthy global economy growing despite all the challenges and pressures," he said. Powell could move crude prices Investors are also keeping an eye on the movements of the U.S. dollar, with Fed Chair Jerome Powell set to speak later in the session. The U.S. currency has made something of a comeback this week, making crude more expensive for foreign buyers, after a series of Federal Reserve policymakers indicated the need for monetary policy to stay restrictive for some time to combat still elevated inflation. The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week as the labor market continued to show few signs of a significant slowdown, data showed Thursday. https://www.investing.com/news/commodities-news/oil-prices-rise-after-tumbling-below-80-demand-concerns-persist-3227932

2023-11-08 21:52

In a notable development, the value of TRB has seen a significant increase from $11 to its current price of $132 since September, marking an impressive 700% rise. This surge coincides with major withdrawals of TRB from Binance by 20 whales, including a new one identified as 0xc75. Since August 31, 2023, these whales have collectively withdrawn 1.28 million TRB, equivalent to half the total supply and valued at approximately $164 million. The new whale, 0xc75, recently withdrew 94,136 TRB worth $11.6 million at an average price of $123.2 per TRB. These were subsequently stored in his cold wallet and are now worth $12.2 million. His most recent withdrawal involved 31,432 TRB at $129.6 per TRB. These significant withdrawals and the accompanying rise in TRB's value have led to Andrei Grachev of DWF Labs highlighting the negative funding rates in futures for TRB. This has triggered allegations of potential market manipulation in the midst of these events. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/trb-value-sees-700-rise-as-whales-withdraw-half-of-total-supply-93CH-3227785

2023-11-08 21:47

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters. Bitcoin futures open interest witnessed a significant surge today, with CME's Bitcoin futures open interest rising by 6.14% to $3.89 billion. This contributed to a total open interest of 466.98k BTC across platforms, led by Binance with an open interest of 113.10k BTC. The total CME BTC open interest exceeded the 100,000 mark, reflecting positive market sentiment amid anticipation surrounding the leading cryptocurrency. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's anticipated approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs is expected to attract billions into the Bitcoin market. Analysts predict that initial rate cuts in March 2024 could trigger a rally in cryptocurrencies, coinciding with the expected Bitcoin halving in April 2024. Today, Bitcoin's price increased by 1.77% to $35,337.98, with trading volumes soaring by 27.62%. This upward trend follows the Federal Reserve's dovish stance, which has been interpreted positively by the market. Analysts have set a target price for Bitcoin at $50,000 given the bullish sentiment. In other news related to digital assets, whales received 300 million MEME tokens today, indicating significant activity in the altcoin market. Meanwhile, HSBC has announced plans for providing digital asset custodial services, marking another step towards mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies by traditional financial institutions. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/bitcoin-futures-interest-surges-amid-anticipation-of-spot-btc-etfs-approval-93CH-3227770

2023-11-08 20:53

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters Samson Mow, the Chief Strategy Officer at BlockStream and CEO at Pixelmatic, has forecasted a possible bifurcation of Bitcoin into two distinct categories. The prediction was made during a video interview on Wednesday, November 8, 2023. Mow's prognosis comes in the wake of increasing interest in Bitcoin from financial giants such as BlackRock (NYSE:BLK), which recently initiated Bitcoin spot exchange-traded Funds (ETFs). He perceives this surge of institutional interest as an affirmation of Bitcoin's standing as a legitimate investment and its potential future role as a reserve asset. Despite this validation, Mow also warned about the potential negative implications of this institutional "Bitcoin fever." He suggested that it could lead to the creation of "institutional" and "normal" Bitcoin. The concept of "institutional Bitcoin," according to Mow, might become confined within the system as corporations like BlackRock are hesitant to release their BTC holdings. This scenario could result in two separate BTC prices. "Institutional Bitcoin" may trade at a discount due to its limited utility compared to "normal Bitcoin." On the other hand, "free Bitcoin" might trade at a premium and be removed from the market in a process similar to cryptocurrency "burning." Before this prediction, Mow had encouraged the Bitcoin community to transition their BTC from exchanges into self-custody. This move, he insists, is the only way for investors to verify the existence of their acquired BTC. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/blockstream-cso-predicts-potential-division-of-bitcoin-93CH-3227557

2023-11-08 20:37

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters. The cryptocurrency market is witnessing a shift in dominance as Bitcoin's market share fell from 53.1% to 51.5% over the past two weeks. The steady trading range of Bitcoin between $34,000 and $36,000 has led to this decrease. Concurrently, non-ether altcoins have shown strong performance, contributing to this shift. Particularly noteworthy is the altcoin Solana (SOL), which registered a significant gain of 41% on Tuesday. This surge coincided with two major events: the Breakpoint conference and the launch of the Firedancer upgrade's testnet for Solana's blockchain. Despite these positive developments, some analysts view this rise as a rebound from Solana's previous value loss due to last year's FTX collapse, attributing the surge largely to market hype. However, while Bitcoin's dominance is shrinking, interest in it remains high among traders. CME traders have increased their Bitcoin exposure in recent weeks, pushing open interest towards new highs at 105,000 BTC ($3.7 billion). This growth has been significantly influenced by weekly inflows into ProShares' BITO, a futures-based ETF. CME premiums for both Bitcoin and Ether increased over the past week to 16% annualized. December expiries are currently trading at a 1% premium to November, maintaining consistency in Bitcoin and Ether CME premiums for the second consecutive week. Despite high demand for calls increasing bullish Bitcoin exposure costs in the options market, implied volatility remains below its three-year average. Since Bitcoin's rally to $35,000, offshore perpetual swap funding rates have remained neutral. This indicates a shift from bearish sentiment and suggests caution against over-leveraging among traders. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/bitcoin-market-dominance-slips-as-solana-surges-amid-bullish-crypto-trends-93CH-3227548