2024-03-15 12:20

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters Bitcoin has already surpassed gold in investor portfolio allocation - JPMorgan JPMorgan analysts said that, when adjusting for volatility, Bitcoin's allocation in investor portfolios has already outpaced that of gold. Specifically, the flagship cryptocurrency has a 3.7 times greater allocation compared to the bullion. They highlighted a net inflow of $9 billion into Bitcoin ETFs since their inception, accounting for outflows from Grayscale, and suggests a potential Bitcoin ETF market size could reach $62 billion if gold is used as a benchmark. February marked one of the most optimistic periods for the cryptocurrency market, with the total market capitalization surging by nearly 40% month-over-month to $2.2 trillion. This surge was primarily led by a 45% increase in Bitcoin and a 47% rise in Ethereum. While altcoins lagged behind in performance, they still recorded double-digit gains. Both decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible token (NFT) sectors also saw gains during this rally. Net sales for Spot Bitcoin ETFs climbed to $6.1 billion in February, up from $1.5 billion in January. BTC’s value surged by 33% in the past two weeks, reaching a new all-time high, a rise that occurred alongside significant inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs. Similarly, crypto mining stocks also touched new record highs in February. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/bitcoin-has-already-surpassed-gold-in-investor-portfolio-allocation--jpmorgan-432SI-3339912

2024-03-15 10:11

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters. Investing.com - The U.S. dollar edged lower in European trade Friday, but remained on course for a positive week, after hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation data ramped up fears of hawkish signals from the Federal Reserve next week. At 06:15 ET (10:15 GMT), the Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, traded 0.1% lower at 102.950, on track for a 0.3% rise for the week, its first weekly gain in four. Dollar gains on hot inflation data The U.S. producer price index rose 0.6% in February, double the 0.3% expected, adding further signs that inflation remains an issue for the Federal Reserve after data on Tuesday showed that consumer prices increased strongly for a second straight month in February. The U.S. central bank is due to meet next week, and is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged. However, the hotter-than-expected inflation data means that investors will be closely watching for the Fed’s interest rate forecasts, commonly known as its dot plot, and comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell for clues of future monetary policies. Markets now pricing in 60% chance of the Fed cutting rates in June, compared to 74% a week earlier, according to the CME FedWatch tool. “The bulk of hard U.S. data for February has now been released, and the needle has moved more to the hawkish side of the spectrum,” analysts at ING said, in a note. “The Fed can still sound relatively optimistic about disinflation next week, but policymakers will inevitably have to put greater emphasis on the next couple of months of data releases.” Euro gains after French CPI release In Europe, EUR/USD edged 0.2% higher to 1.0898, after French consumer prices rose more than expected in February, climbing 3.0% on an annual basis, a month-on-month increase of 0.8%. The ECB kept rates at record highs of 4% last week, but could start cutting interest rates in the coming months given the slow growth in the region. A tangible recovery in Germany, Europe's biggest economy, is not yet in sight despite positive trends in industrial production, construction and foreign trade at the start of 2024, Germany's economy ministry said on Friday in its monthly report. “EUR/USD is trading at more sustainable levels now, and we think it can remain under modest pressure into the FOMC meeting, in line with our dollar view,” ING added. “There are a few key moving average supports between 1.0840 and 1.0860: if broken, we could see the pair test 1.0800 in the coming days.” ECB chief Christine Lagarde earlier this month hinted strongly that a long-awaited rate cut would be more likely to happen at the central bank's meeting in early June, rather than in April. GBP/USD traded 0.1% higher at 1.2753, with sterling near its lowest level this week, ahead of the Bank of England's policy meeting next week. The BOE is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged next week, but is likely to start cutting rates later this year to support the beleaguered economy. Citigroup now expects the first cut in June, compared to a prior expectation of cuts beginning in August. Yen retreats ahead of BOJ meeting In Asia, USD/JPY traded 0.3% higher to 148.72, with the yen set to lose over 1% this week amid growing speculation over an upcoming Bank of Japan meeting next week. The central bank is widely expected to end its negative interest rate and yield curve control policies in the coming months, with analysts split over a decision being made in March or April. The BOJ could potentially hike interest rates for the first time in nearly 17 years next week, especially as Japanese inflation remained sticky in February. USD/CNY edged 0.1% higher to 7.1960, as the People’s Bank of China left its medium-term lending rates unchanged, heralding no changes to its loan prime rate next week. But weak house prices data pointed to continued pressure on the Chinese economy. https://www.investing.com/news/forex-news/dollar-on-course-for-positive-week-after-hot-inflation-data-euro-gains-3339562

2024-03-15 09:15

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters Bitcoin Falls 10% In Bearish Trade Investing.com - Bitcoin was trading at $65,940.0 by 05:15 (09:15 GMT) on the Investing.com Index on Friday, down 10.10% on the day. It was the largest one-day percentage loss since November 9, 2022. The move downwards pushed Bitcoin's market cap down to $1,320.0B, or 51.81% of the total cryptocurrency market cap. At its highest, Bitcoin's market cap was $1,435.8B. Bitcoin had traded in a range of $65,765.6 to $72,398.1 in the previous twenty-four hours. Over the past seven days, Bitcoin has seen a stagnation in value, as it only moved 0.36%. The volume of Bitcoin traded in the twenty-four hours to time of writing was $77.9B or 38.57% of the total volume of all cryptocurrencies. It has traded in a range of $65,765.6172 to $73,740.8984 in the past 7 days. At its current price, Bitcoin is still down 10.58% from its all-time high of $73,740.90 set on March 14. Elsewhere in cryptocurrency trading Ethereum was last at $3,591.53 on the Investing.com Index, down 9.74% on the day. Tether USDt was trading at $0.9990 on the Investing.com Index, a loss of 0.02%. Ethereum's market cap was last at $440.3B or 17.28% of the total cryptocurrency market cap, while Tether USDt's market cap totaled $103.2B or 4.05% of the total cryptocurrency market value. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/bitcoin-falls-10-in-bearish-trade-3339463

2024-03-15 08:54

Investing.com - Litecoin was trading at $81.138 by 03:22 (07:22 GMT) on the Investing.com Index on Sunday, down 10.15% on the day. It was the largest one-day percentage loss since January 3. The move downwards pushed Litecoin's market cap down to $6.123B, or 0.25% of the total cryptocurrency market cap. At its highest, Litecoin's market cap was $25.609B. Litecoin had traded in a range of $81.138 to $86.317 in the previous twenty-four hours. Over the past seven days, Litecoin has seen a drop in value, as it lost 7.53%. The volume of Litecoin traded in the twenty-four hours to time of writing was $634.902M or 0.43% of the total volume of all cryptocurrencies. It has traded in a range of $81.1377 to $105.6173 in the past 7 days. At its current price, Litecoin is still down 80.68% from its all-time high of $420.00 set on December 12, 2017. Elsewhere in cryptocurrency trading Bitcoin was last at $64,816.9 on the Investing.com Index, down 6.64% on the day. Ethereum was trading at $3,425.27 on the Investing.com Index, a loss of 8.08%. Bitcoin's market cap was last at $1,280.539B or 52.18% of the total cryptocurrency market cap, while Ethereum's market cap totaled $413.374B or 16.84% of the total cryptocurrency market value. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/litecoin-falls-10-in-selloff-3341073

2024-03-15 05:43

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters. Investing.com-- Gold prices moved little in Asian trade on Friday as stronger-than-expected inflation data spurred more fears that the Federal Reserve will signal higher-for-longer interest rates at an upcoming meeting. But this sentiment did little to deter a rally in copper prices, which surged to new 11-month highs on Friday as expectations of substantially tighter Chinese supplies spurred heavy buying in the red metal. Bullion prices, on the other hand, were pressured by a stronger dollar. The greenback rose to an over one-week high after strong inflation readings this week, while traders also positioned for an upcoming Fed meeting. Spot gold rose 0.1% to 2,163.98 an ounce, while gold futures expiring in April steadied at $2,168.05 an ounce by 01:17 ET (05:17 GMT). Gold nurses tumble from record high as Fed meeting approaches Gold prices were set for weekly losses after falling sharply from record highs hit on Monday. Pressure on the yellow metal came chiefly from growing angst over a Fed meeting next week, especially as consumer and producer inflation signals read stronger than expected for a third straight month. Sticky inflation saw traders grow fearful of any hawkish signals from the Fed, especially as the central bank signaled that its plans for interest rate cuts in 2024 will be largely dictated by the path of inflation. Higher-for-longer rates bode poorly for gold and other non-yielding assets. Still, ANZ analysts said in a recent note that while gold may see some weakness in the near-term, the yellow metal still had a slew of factors working in its favor for the rest of the year. They also hiked their 2024 target price for gold to $2,300 an ounce from $2,200 an ounce. Other precious metals rose on Friday and were set to outperform gold for the week. Platinum futures rose 0.2% to $932.50 an ounce, while silver futures rose 0.6% to $25.212 an ounce. Copper prices rally to 11-mth highs on China supply shortage Three-month copper futures on the London Metal Exchange surged 1.5% on Friday and crossed the $9,000 a ton level for the first time since April 2023. One-month U.S. copper futures jumped 1.3% to $4.1022 a pound- a 11-month high. Both contracts were set to add over 5% this week- their best weekly gain so far in 2024. Copper’s rally was triggered chiefly by media reports stating that major Chinese copper smelters were planning to carry out joint production cuts, limiting the supply of refined copper. Citi analysts said that the copper rally still had legs, and that they were overweight on copper with a potential upside of up to $9,500 a ton by June 2024. https://www.investing.com/news/commodities-news/gold-prices-steady-before-fed-meeting-copper-rallies-higher-3339310

2024-03-15 04:55

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters. Investing.com-- Most Asian currencies fell on Friday, while the dollar hit an over one-week high as hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation data ramped up fears of any hawkish signals from a Federal Reserve meeting next week. Markets were also antsy before central bank meetings in Japan and Australia next week, which are expected to potentially offer more hawkish signals to currency markets. Dollar at over 1-week high as sticky inflation puts Fed in focus The dollar index and dollar index futures rose 0.1% each in Asian trade, sitting comfortably above the 103 level after producer price index data read stronger-than-expected for February. The reading came on the heels of stronger-than-expected consumer price index data released earlier this week, which also showed inflation moving further away from the Federal Reserve’s 2% annual target. The higher inflation readings came just before a Fed meeting next week, where the central bank is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged. But the Fed could now potentially offer up a more hawkish stance on rates, given that it has repeatedly signaled that any rate cuts in 2024 will be largely dictated by the path of inflation. Traders were seen trimming their expectations for an interest rate cut in June and pushing up expectations for a hold, according to the CME Fedwatch tool. The prospect of higher-for-longer interest rates weighed on broader Asian currencies. Yen steadies with BOJ pivot in focus The Japanese yen moved little on Friday and was set to lose 0.8% this week amid growing speculation over an upcoming Bank of Japan meeting next week. The central bank is widely expected to end its negative interest rate and yield curve control policies in the coming months, with analysts split over a decision being made in March or April. The BOJ could potentially hike interest rates for the first time in nearly 17 years next week, especially as Japanese inflation remained sticky in February, while recent negotiations over Japanese wages pointed to bumper increases in 2024. Both factors are key considerations for the BOJ in tightening policy. Among other Asian units, the Australian dollar fell 0.2%, with the Reserve Bank of Australia largely expected to maintain its hawkish tilt next week. The Chinese yuan fell 0.1% as the People’s Bank of China left its medium-term lending rates unchanged, heralding no changes to its loan prime rate next week. But weak house prices data pointed to continued pressure on the Chinese economy. The South Korean won slid 0.5%, facing pressure from a stronger U.S. dollar, while the Singapore dollar fell 0.1%. The Indian rupee nursed steep losses from Thursday, and was trading at 82.9 to the dollar in morning trade. https://www.investing.com/news/forex-news/asia-fx-falls-dollar-at-over-1week-high-as-hot-inflation-feeds-fed-jitters-3339300