2023-11-29 11:30

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters PHILIPPINES - The Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is taking decisive action against cryptocurrency exchange Binance, aiming to block the platform's operations within the country. The regulator has cited Binance's lack of proper corporate registration and unauthorized securities offerings as the primary reasons for the impending restriction. The SEC, in collaboration with the National Telecommunication Commission (NTC) and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), is set to prevent users in the Philippines from accessing Binance's website and applications. This move is part of a broader enforcement effort to protect investors and ensure that all financial service providers operate within the legal framework. Binance's operations have come under scrutiny for violating Republic Act No. 8799, also known as the Securities Regulation Code. The SEC has highlighted the risks associated with the platform, particularly targeting Binance's social media promotions aimed at Filipino investors. The commission has stressed that those promoting or selling investments in Binance could face criminal liabilities, including fines of up to ₱5 million (USD1 = PHP55.363) or imprisonment for up to 21 years. In addition to direct enforcement measures, the SEC has also reached out to tech giants Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Meta (NASDAQ:META), requesting the prohibition of Binance advertisements in the Philippines. The SEC's planned actions are expected to take effect within three months, signaling a significant shift in the regulatory landscape for cryptocurrency exchanges operating in the Philippines. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/philippine-sec-to-block-binance-over-unlicensed-operations-93CH-3245597

2023-11-29 09:52

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters. The South African rand strengthened against the dollar today, buoyed by the US Federal Reserve's dovish comments that signaled potential rate cuts in the future. This shift in stance by the Fed has provided a boost to emerging market currencies, with the rand climbing 0.5% to 18.4994 against the dollar by 0951 GMT. Amidst these global monetary policy developments, the dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of other major currencies, remained flat, indicating that the rand's gains were specific to the optimism around the easing of US monetary policy. On the domestic front, South Africa's financial health showed signs of tightening, with the M3 money supply for October contracting to 6.08%, a drop from September's 7.67%. This decrease points to a reduction in the amount of domestic currency in circulation, which can have various implications for the economy. Additionally, the pace of private sector credit growth has slowed down, coming in just below four percent. Investors and analysts are now looking forward to the South African Reserve Bank’s Financial Stability Review, which is expected to shed light on the current economic vulnerabilities facing the nation. In the bond market, yields on South Africa’s benchmark government bond, due in the year 2030, remained unchanged in early trading, holding steady at just over ten percent. This stability in bond yields suggests that investors are maintaining their expectations for South Africa's debt in the near term. https://www.investing.com/news/forex-news/south-african-rand-gains-on-us-feds-dovish-signals-93CH-3245487

2023-11-29 09:01

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters Investing.com - The U.S. dollar stabilized in early European trade Wednesday, remaining near a three-month low amid growing expectations that the Federal Reserve has completed its series of rate hikes and could begin cutting rates early next year. At 03:20 ET (07:20 GMT), the Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, traded largely flat at 102.652, trading around its lowest level since early August. Fed Waller flags potential rate cuts The dollar retreated further late Tuesday after Fed Governor Christopher Waller, widely seen as a hawkish voice at the central bank, flagged the possibility of a rate cut in the months ahead. "I am increasingly confident that policy is currently well positioned to slow the economy and get inflation back to 2%," he said during a speech at the American Enterprise Institute think tank on Tuesday. If the decline in inflation continues "for several more months ... three months, four months, five months ... we could start lowering the policy rate just because inflation is lower," he added. The Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, the personal consumption expenditures price index, is due on Thursday, and is expected to have risen 0.1% in November, a cooling from 0.4% in September. The core reading, which strips out food and fuel costs and is considered a better gauge of underlying inflation, is expected to have risen 3.5% on a year-over-year basis, a drop from 3.7% the prior month, and the lowest since mid-2021. Euro near three-month high In Europe, EUR/USD rose 0.1% to 1.0994, having earlier traded above 1.10 to an over three-month high of 1.1018. The latest EU inflation data is due for release on Thursday, and is expected to show an easing of pressures, especially after Germany’s most populous state, North Rhine Westphalia, saw consumer prices fall 0.3% on the month in November, with the annual figure rising 3.0%, a significant slowing from 4.2% the prior month. That said, ECB officials have tried to guard against raised expectations of near term interest rate cuts. Bundesbank chief Joachim Nagel said on Tuesday the European Central Bank may need to raise interest rates again if the inflation outlook worsened, while ECB President Christine Lagarde said on Monday the bank's fight to contain price growth was not yet done. GBP/USD rose 0.1% to 1.2700, not far removed from the three-month top of 1.2733 seen earlier in the session. Kiwi surges after RBNZ warns of potential further hikes In Asia, NZD/USD soared 0.5% to 0.6165 after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand kept interest rates on hold, but warned that further policy tightening might be needed if price pressures did not ease. USD/JPY traded 0.1% lower to 147.32, with the yen close to a two-month high ahead of the release Thursday of Japanese industrial production and retail sales data. USD/CNY traded 0.3% lower at 7.1252, following a stronger daily midpoint fix from the People’s Bank of China. Focus this week was on purchasing managers index data for November, due on Thursday. The reading is expected to show a sustained decline in manufacturing activity, highlighting continued weakness in China’s biggest economic engines. https://www.investing.com/news/forex-news/dollar-stabilizes-at-low-levels-pce-data-could-determine-future-direction-3245455

2023-11-29 04:55

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters. Investing.com-- Gold prices rose in Asian trade on Wednesday, reaching a near seven-month high as a string of dovish signals from Federal Reserve officials ramped up bets on an early pivot by the central bank. A drop in the dollar- to near four-month lows, benefited the yellow metal, as did retreating U.S. Treasury yields. The 10-year rate fell to a two-month low in Asian trade. Caution before a string of key economic readings this week- from the U.S. and China- also kept safe haven demand for gold upbeat, especially as a several weak readings from Japan and the euro zone fed concerns over a global economic slowdown. Spot gold rose 0.1% to $2,044.08 an ounce, while gold futures expiring in December rose 0.2% to $2,044.20 an ounce by 23:27 ET (04:37 GMT). Spot prices were now about $30 away from a record high touched earlier this year. Gold underpinned by Fed pivot bets, set for bumper November Fed officials said in separate overnight comments that the bank needed to be more cautious in keeping rates higher for longer, and that easing inflation may spur the bank into loosening policy earlier than expected. Fed Governor and noted hawk Christopher Waller said that high rates had quashed inflation sufficiently this year, and that a further decline in price pressures will likely see the bank begin cutting interest rates. His comments saw traders pricing in an at least 40% chance that the Fed will cut rates by as soon as March 2024, and that the central bank will keep rates on hold in December. Waller and other Fed officials have just this week to offer more cues on monetary policy, before the blackout period ahead of the Fed’s mid-December meeting. Chairman Jerome Powell is also set to speak later this week. The prospect of a shift in the Fed’s hawkish stance spurred strong gains in gold through November, with the yellow metal now set to add over 3% for the month. Any potential rate cuts by the Fed are likely to benefit gold markets, given that higher rates push up the opportunity cost of investing in the yellow metal. Tony Sycamore, analyst at IG Markets called the trend a “perfect environment for gold” in an interview with Ausbiz. Copper upbeat as supply disruptions help ease China jitters Among industrial metals, copper prices were flat on Wednesday as supply disruptions in Peru and Panama helped ease uncertainty before key Chinese economic data this week. Copper futures expiring in March were flat at $3.8460 a pound after rallying 1.5% so far this week. Weakness in the dollar also aided copper prices. A copper mine operated by Canadian miner First Quantum (NASDAQ:QMCO) was ordered to shut down by the Panama government on the grounds that its contract was unconstitutional. This also coincided with a planned strike at MMG Ltd’s Las Bambas copper mine in Peru. The output disruptions pointed to tighter copper markets in the coming months- a trend that could support prices of the red metal. But markets remained largely on edge before key purchasing managers index data from China, which is expected to show a continued decline in manufacturing activity in the world’s largest copper importer. https://www.investing.com/news/commodities-news/gold-prices-race-to-near-7mth-high-on-dovish-fed-speak-3245252

2023-11-29 03:52

Investing.com-- Most Asian currencies rose on Wednesday as less hawkish signals from Federal Reserve officials ramped up hopes for an early interest rate cut in 2024, which put the dollar near four-month lows. The New Zealand dollar was the best performer for the day, rallying nearly 1% after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand kept interest rates on hold, but flagged potential rate increases in 2024 as inflation remained sticky. The RBNZ hiked its forecast for peak interest rates in 2024- which saw analysts at Westpac now forecasting a 75% probability of an at least 25 basis point hike in the coming months. Asia FX up, dollar near 4-mth low after Fed officials talk pivot Broader Asian currencies advanced after Fed officials said in overnight comments that the bank was likely done hiking interest rates, and could even consider an early interest rate cut if inflation falls further. Traders began pricing in an at least 40% chance the Fed will trim rates by as early as March 2024. Focus was now on PCE price index data- the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge- due later in the week. The dollar Index and dollar index futures plummeted following the Fed comments, and fell between 0.1% to 0.2% in Asian trade on Wednesday. The two indicators were also at their weakest level since early-August. Most Asian currencies logged strong gains on the prospect of a Fed pivot, given that it points to easing pressure on risk-heavy yields. The Japanese yen rose 0.2% to a near two-month high, and moved further away from the 150 level. Focus this week was also on Japanese industrial production and retail sales data, due on Thursday. But the yen curbed some recent gains after Bank of Japan board member Seiji Adachi said that it was still too early to consider a pivot away from the central bank’s ultra-dovish stance. The rate-sensitive South Korean won was flat after rallying 0.8% in overnight trade, while the Malaysian ringgit led gains across Southeast Asian currencies with a 0.6% spike. The Indian rupee lagged its peers, sticking close to record lows amid pressure from India’s large trade deficit. A spike in oil prices also weighed on the currency. The Australian dollar also lagged its peers for the day as data showed consumer price index (CPI) inflation grew less than expected in October, dampening bets on more interest rate hikes by the Reserve Bank of Australia. But CPI still remained well above the RBA’s target range, while core inflation remained sticky. Chinese yuan firms, PMIs in focus The Chinese yuan rose 0.3% following a stronger daily midpoint fix from the People’s Bank of China, briefly touching a five-month high of 7.1201 to the dollar. While the yuan saw a strong run of gains through November, concerns over a sluggish Chinese economy still persisted, especially after a string of weak economic readings for October. This kept the currency trading above the psychologically important 7 to the dollar level. Focus this week was on purchasing managers index (PMI) data for November, due on Thursday. The reading is expected to show a sustained decline in manufacturing activity, highlighting continued weakness in China’s biggest economic engines. https://www.investing.com/news/forex-news/asia-fx-rises-on-fed-pivot-hopes-nz-dollar-boosted-by-hawkish-rbnz-3245239

2023-11-29 02:07

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters. Investing.com-- Oil prices rose sharply Wednesday, shrugging off unexpected increase in U.S crude stockpiles amid further supply disruptions just a day ahead of an OPEC+ meeting to decide on future output policy. By 14:30 ET (19:30 GMT), the U.S. crude futures settled 1.9% higher at $77.86 a barrel and the Brent contract climbed 1.7% to $83.10 a barrel. U.S. weekly stockpiles spring upside surprise U.S. weekly crude stockpiles rose by roughly 1.6M barrels in the week ended Nov. 14, confounding expectations of a draw of about 933,000 barrels. Gasoline inventories, one of the products that crude is refined into, rose by roughly 1.8M barrels, well above expectations of a build of 229,000 barrels while distillate stockpiles jumped by 5.2M barrels, compared with expectations for a fall of 394,000 barrels. Supply disruptions help crude prices A severe storm in the Black Sea region has reportedly disrupted up to 2 million barrels per day of oil exports from the region, as it resulted in Kazakhstan’s three biggest oil fields cutting output by 56%. Additionally, the oil market also found support from a drop in U.S. crude inventories, with stocks falling by 817,000 barrels last week, according to data from industry body American Petroleum Institute. Official data is scheduled for release later in the session, and if this draw is confirmed it comes after a bumper, 8.7 million build in the week before. U.S. inventories had seen four straight weeks of builds as fuel demand appeared to be cooling with the winter season. Output cuts in focus ahead of OPEC+ meeting looms large Hopes of potential output cuts by major oil producers were boosted ahead of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, including Russia, meeting due Thursday, were boosted by a Wall Street Journal report Wednesday, suggesting that a cut of as much as 1 million barrels a day was under consideration. Saudi Arabia, Russia and other members of OPEC+ have already pledged total oil output cuts of about 5 million barrels per day (bpd), about 5% of daily global demand, in a series of steps that started in late 2022. This includes Saudi Arabia's additional voluntary production cut of 1 million bpd, which is due to expire at the end of December, and a Russian export cut of 300,000 bpd until the end of the year. https://www.investing.com/news/commodities-news/oil-prices-extend-gains-on-opec-cut-bets-more-supply-disruptions-3245224