2023-11-06 06:11

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters. The continuous devaluation of the Nigerian Naira, which recently peaked at N2,010 per CFA1000, has significantly disrupted cross-border trade and led to record high commodity prices. The situation has been particularly severe for traders dealing in rice and frozen poultry products at the Seme-Krake border in Lagos. The price of a 50kg bag of rice has surged to about N35,000 while a carton of frozen poultry products now costs N28,000. Trader John Ebube from Lagos noted that financial challenges are intensifying as the Naira's value continues to fall. The depreciation of Nigeria's currency has also inadvertently turned petrol smuggling into a profitable business. Following the removal of petrol subsidies in May, petrol prices have reached an all-time high of over CFA 1000 (about N2,010) per liter. This situation has been exacerbated by Nigerians exchanging CFA Francs for dollars in Niger. The shortage of CFA Francs, worsened by a military coup and suspected hoarding by government officials, has resulted in the dominance of Naira in transactions in markets in provinces bordering Nigerian states like Borno, Yobe, Kano, Katsina, and Sokoto. Aminu Abdulkadir from Diffa confirmed this shift. The depreciating Naira has also led to a significant disruption in the West African sub-region. Recent trading rates hitting N2,010 per CFA1000 have triggered a mass exodus of traders from cross-border businesses due to dwindling profits. Furthermore, the CFA franc has started appreciating against the naira recently. From an earlier exchange rate of 1100 CFA franc to N1,200, it now fluctuates between N1600 to N1700. This change, along with a steep price increase for commodities like rice and frozen poultry products, has eroded the profitability of cross-border business. As a result, Nigerians engaging in cross-border trade are finding their ventures increasingly unprofitable. https://www.investing.com/news/forex-news/naira-devaluation-hits-crossborder-trade-as-commodity-prices-surge-93CH-3222600

2023-11-06 05:35

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters The Decentralized Finance (DeFi) market has seen a significant boost of $10 billion, fueled by Ethereum's ongoing rally that has sent its value soaring to $1,900. The surge in Ethereum's value has notably increased the market valuation of DeFi tokens within its ecosystem, leading to a rise in trading activity on decentralized exchanges such as SushiSwap and Uniswap. SushiSwap experienced significant growth this week, with its value increasing by 58.55%. This uptick is indicative of the broader trend within the Ethereum ecosystem, as investors continue to show interest in riskier small-cap projects beyond the top 10 crypto market rankings. The transition from Proof-of-Work to Proof-of-Stake in the Ethereum blockchain has played a crucial role in this development. This transition has mitigated potential increases in Gas fees that could have been triggered by Ethereum's value growth. Layer 2 (L2) scaling protocols such as Optimism and Arbitrum have further improved the situation by alleviating network congestion on the Ethereum blockchain. Emerging DeFi tokens like Raydium, Opulous, and Venus on the Ethereum Layer-1 blockchain have also contributed to the increase in the total DeFi market capitalization. As Ethereum continues its upward trajectory, experts predict further capital inflows into these DeFi tokens and the broader ecosystem. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/ethereum-surge-fuels-10-billion-boost-in-defi-market-93CH-3222566

2023-11-06 04:58

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters The global cryptocurrency market has experienced a two-day rally, with the total market capitalization increasing by 0.47% to $1.32 trillion as of Monday. This surge was led by Ethereum, which posted a two-week gain of 25% and a one-month gain of 16%. The price of Ethereum rose to $1,888.56 per token, raising its market cap to $227 billion. Bitcoin also contributed to the rally, despite trading lower at $34,928.96 per token on Monday. The reduced price is attributed to investor confidence in the potential approval of a US-based Bitcoin ETF by the SEC and the Federal Reserve's decision not to hike interest rates. The total crypto market volume surged by 35.37% to $38.73 billion within 24 hours, with DeFi and stablecoins contributing $4.36 billion and $33.18 billion respectively. Meme currencies such as Dogecoin and Shiba Inu traded higher at $0.07179 and $0.000008144, respectively, with market caps of $10.17 billion and $4.8 billion. Other altcoins including Ripple's XRP, Cardano, Solana, and Polkadot also saw increases, trading at $0.6825, $0.3457, $41.19, and $4.79, respectively. This rally follows a strong start to November for the crypto market, which saw most assets recording significant value increases and total market capitalization exceeding $1.3 trillion on Sunday. Bitcoin broke from the $26,000 range on Sunday, surging beyond $35,000 before settling slightly lower. Ethereum posted a 5% value increase over that weekend, aiming for the $2,000 level once again. Altcoins such as BNB, Dogecoin, TRON, Polkadot, XRP, Solana, Cardano, Toncoin, and Chainlink also saw gains on Sunday. The Metaverse sector reflected this positive sentiment with Axie Infinity, The Sandbox, Decentraland, and ApeCoin showing growth. The DeFi sector's total value of locked protocols (TVL) increased by $2 billion to reach $43.78 billion. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/crypto-market-rallies-with-ethereum-leading-the-charge-93CH-3222551

2023-11-06 04:31

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters. Investing.com-- Gold prices fell in Asian trade on Monday, as any relief over a potential pause in the Federal Reserve’s rate hikes was largely offset by traders selling the yellow metal in favor of more risk-driven assets. Gold saw some strength last week as weaker-than-expected U.S. nonfarm payrolls data, coupled with less hawkish signals from the Fed spurred deep declines in the dollar and Treasury yields. But any major upside in the yellow metal was limited, as traders pivoted largely into risk-driven assets such as stocks and currencies. Safe haven demand for the yellow metal was further dented by a declining risk premium on the Israel-Hamas war, even as the conflict showed little signs of de escalating. Israel rejected calls for a ceasefire, while media reports suggested that Russian mercenary group Wagner was planning to supply air defense systems to Hezbollah. Concerns over the conflict had driven large gains in gold through October. But with the conflict now appearing unlikely to spill over into the broader Middle East region, traders locked in their profits on the yellow metal. Spot gold fell 0.5% to $1,984.24 an ounce, while gold futures expiring in December fell 0.4% to $1,991.15 an ounce by 23:11 ET (03:11 GMT). Gold sees little relief from easing Fed fears Traders are now pricing in a 95.2% chance that the Fed will not hike rates any further. The central bank is also expected to begin trimming rates by as soon as June 2024. But even with any rate cuts, the Fed has signaled that it will keep its benchmark rate above 5% until at least end-2024. U.S. rates are likely to stay higher for longer, pressuring non-yielding assets such as gold. This trade had pressured the yellow metal over the past year. Copper prices surge, China data awaited Among industrial metals, copper prices saw strong gains on Monday as risk appetite improved. Copper futures expiring in December jumped 0.7% to $3.6987 a pound, amid some hopes that an end to the Fed’s hiking cycle will help ease pressure on global industrial activity. Focus was also squarely on key trade and inflation data from China, the world’s largest copper importer. Trade data, which is due on Tuesday, is expected to offer more cues on copper imports in the country, which have stagnated over the past year amid slowing economic growth. https://www.investing.com/news/commodities-news/gold-prices-dip-as-risk-appetite-ramps-up-on-fed-pause-bets-3222545

2023-11-06 03:37

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters. Investing.com-- Most Asian currencies strengthened on Monday, while the dollar hovered near six-week lows as softer-than-expected U.S. payrolls data and less hawkish signals from the Federal Reserve drove up bets that the bank was done raising interest rates. Focus now turns to key upcoming economic readings from China, as well as a Reserve Bank of Australia meeting this week for more cues on major Asian economies. Sentiment was largely risk-on after data on Friday showed that U.S. nonfarm payrolls grew less than expected in October. The reading signaled more cooling in the U.S. labor market, which has been a key driver of the Fed’s hawkish stance this year. This drove traders into more risk-heavy Asian markets, with the South Korean won and the Thai baht adding 0.5% and 0.2%, respectively. Southeast Asian currencies saw the biggest gains for the day, with the Malaysian ringgit up 1.2%. The Japanese yen fell 0.2%, steadying below the 150 level against the dollar. Data on Monday showed that Japan’s services sector grew more than expected in October. But the outlook for the yen remained weak following dovish signals from the Bank of Japan. Governor Kazuo Ueda furthered this notion on Monday, stating that while progress was being made towards reaching the bank’s 2% inflation target, it was still insufficient to justify a pivot away from the BOJ’s ultra-loose policy. A dovish BOJ has been the key source of pressure on the yen this year, which was trading close to levels last seen in 1990, during the onset of Japan’s lost decade. Dollar at six-week low on Fed pause bets The dollar index and dollar index futures both rose slightly in Asian trade after sinking to their lowest levels since late-September on Friday. U.S. Treasury yields also retreated, as traders priced in a 95.2% chance that the Fed will not hike rates any further this year. There also stands an over 80% chance that the Fed will begin trimming rates by June 2024. But while the prospect of no more hikes bodes well for Asian markets, the central bank is still expected to keep rates higher for longer, denting the chances of any major near-term gains in Asian currencies. Chinese yuan firms with trade, inflation data on tap The Chinese yuan rose 0.2% on Monday, benefiting from a weaker dollar and a stronger daily midpoint fix by the People’s Bank of China. Focus is now squarely on trade and inflation data due this week, which is expected to shed more light on a sluggish economic recovery in the country. The data also comes just a week after a slew of official and private readings showed further deteriorating in Chinese business activity- a trend that further damaged investor sentiment towards Chinese markets. RBA hike in focus, Aussie at 2-month high The Australian dollar rose slightly on Monday, but traded close to a two-month high as markets priced in a 25 basis point hike by the RBA on Tuesday. The move is widely expected by markets following a recent uptick in Australian consumer inflation. Other data also showed that retail sales unexpectedly grew in the third quarter, underpinning expectations of sticky inflation. While the RBA has kept rates on hold since May, it has still left the door open to more rate hikes, especially if inflation remained sticky. The bank had hiked rates by a cumulative 400 bps since early-2022. https://www.investing.com/news/forex-news/asia-fx-gains-dollar-at-6week-low-as-fed-pause-bets-soar-3222540

2023-11-06 00:33

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters. XRP Climbs 10% In Rally Investing.com - XRP was trading at $0.63844 by 12:57 (16:57 GMT) on the Investing.com Index on Thursday, up 10.41% on the day. It was the largest one-day percentage gain since March 11. The move upwards pushed XRP's market cap up to $34.76915B, or 1.38% of the total cryptocurrency market cap. At its highest, XRP's market cap was $83.44071B. XRP had traded in a range of $0.59769 to $0.65397 in the previous twenty-four hours. Over the past seven days, XRP has seen a drop in value, as it lost 5.29%. The volume of XRP traded in the twenty-four hours to time of writing was $2.84027B or 2.00% of the total volume of all cryptocurrencies. It has traded in a range of $0.5695 to $0.6751 in the past 7 days. At its current price, XRP is still down 80.59% from its all-time high of $3.29 set on January 4, 2018. Elsewhere in cryptocurrency trading Bitcoin was last at $66,706.0 on the Investing.com Index, up 5.73% on the day. Ethereum was trading at $3,524.30 on the Investing.com Index, a gain of 8.79%. Bitcoin's market cap was last at $1,306.39355B or 51.74% of the total cryptocurrency market cap, while Ethereum's market cap totaled $420.97080B or 16.67% of the total cryptocurrency market value. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/xrp-climbs-10-in-rally-3348463