2024-02-29 05:13

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters Investing.com-- Most Asian currencies moved little on Thursday and the dollar steadied ahead of key U.S. inflation data, while the yen strengthened sharply as a Bank of Japan member called for an end to negative interest rates. Regional currencies were nursing overnight losses after several Federal Reserve members said that more work was needed to achieve the bank’s 2% annual inflation target, while GDP data underscored resilience in the U.S. economy. But the dollar fell slightly in Asian trade amid pressure from a sharp rise in the Japanese yen. Yen strengthens as BOJ member calls for end to stimulus The yen firmed 0.6% against the dollar after BOJ member Hajime Takata said on Thursday that the central bank should consider an exit from its ultra-loose policies. Takata called for an end to the BOJ’s yield curve control and negative interest rates, citing progress towards achieving the central bank’s 2% inflation target. Takata’s comment fueled speculation that the central bank will raise interest rates by as soon as April- a notion that was already in play after stronger-than-expected consumer price index inflation data released earlier this week. But other economic readings for January- specifically retail sales and industrial production- still painted a middling picture of the Japanese economy, which had unexpectedly fallen into recession in the fourth quarter. Economic weakness could potentially delay an early pivot by the BOJ. Other Asian currencies moved in a flat-to-low range on Thursday. The Australian dollar rose 0.4%, recovering sharply from steep losses in the prior session after softer-than-expected inflation data. Underwhelming retail sales data on Thursday furthered bets that the Reserve Bank will have little cause to keep raising interest rates. The Indian rupee was flat, with focus turning to GDP data for the December quarter, which is expected to show some cooling after two years of stellar Indian economic growth. The Chinese yuan tread water ahead of key purchasing managers index data due on Friday, which is expected to offer more cues on Asia’s biggest economy. The South Korean won and Singapore dollar both moved sideways. Dollar edges lower, PCE inflation awaited The dollar index and dollar index futures both fell 0.1% in Asian trade, coming under pressure from a strong yen. Focus was squarely on PCE price index data- the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, which is due later on Thursday and expected to reiterate that inflation remained sticky in January. A chorus of Fed officials said the central bank was in no hurry to begin cutting interest rates, citing concerns over sticky inflation. Fed officials John Williams and Raphael Bostic both said on Wednesday that more work was needed to meet the Fed’s 2% annual inflation target. https://www.investing.com/news/forex-news/asia-fx-muted-ahead-of-us-inflation-yen-surges-on-boj-hawk-talk-3319418

2024-02-29 04:35

Investing.com - Litecoin was trading at $82.133 by 23:35 (04:35 GMT) on the Investing.com Index on Thursday, up 11.08% on the day. It was the largest one-day percentage gain since June 30, 2023. The move upwards pushed Litecoin's market cap up to $5.892B, or 0.26% of the total cryptocurrency market cap. At its highest, Litecoin's market cap was $25.609B. Litecoin had traded in a range of $73.935 to $82.133 in the previous twenty-four hours. Over the past seven days, Litecoin has seen a rise in value, as it gained 15.97%. The volume of Litecoin traded in the twenty-four hours to time of writing was $858.902M or 0.45% of the total volume of all cryptocurrencies. It has traded in a range of $67.5438 to $82.1330 in the past 7 days. At its current price, Litecoin is still down 80.44% from its all-time high of $420.00 set on December 12, 2017. Elsewhere in cryptocurrency trading Bitcoin was last at $61,782.9 on the Investing.com Index, up 8.53% on the day. Ethereum was trading at $3,434.75 on the Investing.com Index, a gain of 5.14%. Bitcoin's market cap was last at $1,211.823B or 53.00% of the total cryptocurrency market cap, while Ethereum's market cap totaled $411.730B or 18.01% of the total cryptocurrency market value. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/litecoin-climbs-11-in-bullish-trade-3319399

2024-02-29 03:03

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters. Investing.com-- The Japanese yen strengthened sharply against the dollar on Thursday, crossing key levels after a Bank of Japan member called for an overhaul to the bank’s ultra-dovish policy, including an exit from yield curve control and negative interest rates. The yen jumped 0.5% to 149.87 to the dollar, recovering swiftly from the 150 level it had maintained against the greenback for nearly a month. BOJ board member Hajime Takata said on Thursday that the central bank must consider an exit from its ultra-loose policy, flagging increasing prospects for inflation achieving the BOJ’s 2% annual target. He also said that higher wages will push up household income and make the target more achievable. Takata called on the bank to abandon its yield curve control measures, and also raise interest rates. Under its massive stimulus program, the BOJ currently allows benchmark bond yields to move in a range of -1% to 1% around a base of 0%, and has held short-term interest rates at -0.1% for nearly a decade. Takata’s comments drummed up bets that the BOJ was close to ending this policy, which bodes well for the yen. Hotter-than-expected consumer price index inflation data for January, released earlier this week, also saw markets pricing in the possibility of an end to the BOJ’s stimulus policies by as soon as April. Takata's comments offered some relief to the yen, which was languishing at three-month lows on the prospect of higher-for-longer U.S. interest rates. This trade had pushed flows into the dollar and battered the yen over the past two years, at one point putting the currency at its weakest level in over 30 years. But weakness in the Japanese economy still casts some doubt over the BOJ’s plans. The economy unexpectedly entered a recession in the fourth quarter of 2023, while retail sales and industrial production data for January painted a middling picture. https://www.investing.com/news/forex-news/japanese-yen-strengthens-sharply-as-boj-member-calls-for-policy-overhaul-3319366

2024-02-29 01:36

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters. Investing.com-- Oil prices settled lower Thursday, but notched a second-monthly gain as hopes for tighter supply and fresh hopes for a summer U.S. interest rate cut following data showing inflation continued to trend lower. By 14:30 ET (19.30 GMT), the U.S. crude futures fell 0.4% to settle at $78.26 a barrel and the Brent contract fell 0.3% to $81.88 a barrel. Both benchmark wrapped up the February, with second-monthly gain. In-line inflation data cools fears The personal consumption expenditures price index data released earlier Thursday rose 0.3% on the month and 2.8% on annualized basis in January, matching economists and providing relief for markets following signs of faster inflation last month. The core PCE price index, the Federal Reserve's favorite inflation gauge, rose 0.4% on the month in January, an annual rise of 2.8%. Fears of higher rates have been a key weight on oil, given that economic conditions and demand usually deteriorate in high rate environments. OPEC+ extension hopes, retreating U.S. output stoke tighter market hopes Expectations for OPEC and its allies or OPEC+, to extend their cuts into the second-quarter also helped boost sentiment and hope for tighter markets this year. OPEC+ is now widely expected to maintain its current production curbs until end-2024. OPEC+ is set to meet in early March to decide whether to extend oil production curbs. In November, the group collectively decided to voluntarily cut 2.2 million barrel per day production in Q1. The rising expectations for output cuts come as U.S. output fell slightly from record highs. U.S. crude oil production fell to 13.315 million barrels per day in December, down from November’s record of 13.314 million barrels per day, data from the Energy Information Administration showed on Thursday. Still, fears of a Chinese demand slowdown grew after a major state-owned producer warned that oil demand in the world’s largest crude importer was expected to remain stagnant this year. The Middle East conflict, meanwhile, showed no signs of abating, with both Israel and Hamas playing down prospects for a truce in their war in Gaza. https://www.investing.com/news/commodities-news/oil-prices-creep-lower-amid-mixed-supply-cues-us-inflation-in-focus-3319351

2024-02-28 17:08

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters Bitcoin Climbs 10% As Investors Gain Confidence Investing.com - Bitcoin was trading at $67,022.7 by 15:09 (20:09 GMT) on the Investing.com Index on Wednesday, up 10.07% on the day. It was the largest one-day percentage gain since October 23, 2023. The move upwards pushed Bitcoin's market cap up to $1,313.9B, or 52.29% of the total cryptocurrency market cap. At its highest, Bitcoin's market cap was $1,333.8B. Bitcoin had traded in a range of $62,848.7 to $67,604.9 in the previous twenty-four hours. Over the past seven days, Bitcoin has seen a rise in value, as it gained 9.61%. The volume of Bitcoin traded in the twenty-four hours to time of writing was $82.4B or 38.72% of the total volume of all cryptocurrencies. It has traded in a range of $60,138.2031 to $69,063.0938 in the past 7 days. At its current price, Bitcoin is still down 2.95% from its all-time high of $69,063.09 set on March 5. Elsewhere in cryptocurrency trading Ethereum was last at $3,875.45 on the Investing.com Index, up 15.40% on the day. Tether USDt was trading at $1.0012 on the Investing.com Index, a gain of 0.15%. Ethereum's market cap was last at $463.8B or 18.46% of the total cryptocurrency market cap, while Tether USDt's market cap totaled $100.6B or 4.00% of the total cryptocurrency market value. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/bitcoin-climbs-10-as-investors-gain-confidence-3327439

2024-02-28 16:27

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters Investing.com -- The reward for mining Bitcoin could be cut in half as soon as April, analysts at VanEck have said, adding that the event may significantly impact the price of the world's most popular cryptocurrency. Bitcoin halving Known as "halving," the process could see the amount of Bitcoin received by participants in the blockchain network underpinning the token slashed to 3.125 from 6.25. Halving limits the number of Bitcoin in circulation, possibly lowering fresh supply on the open market. Roughly speaking, halving occurs about once every four years, or after the network has verified transactions on a total of 210,000 blocks. The first halving took place in November 2012, when the return from mining stood at 50 Bitcoin. Two more halvings happened in 2016 and 2020. Eventually the reward is due to hit a mark of 0.00000001 Bitcoin, the lowest denomination of the token. Called a "satoshi," this amount could theoretically be the reward until the proposed limit of 21 million Bitcoin in circulation is potentially reached in about 2140. When could the next Bitcoin halving occur? The next Bitcoin halving will likely take place around April 24 this year, Menno Martens, Crypto Specialist at VanEck told Investing.com. Martens called the event "pivotal," noting that prior halvings have resulted in rallies in the price of Bitcoin and the overall capitalization of the crypto market. The first halving in 2012 saw the price of Bitcoin shoot up from around $12 to around $130 six months later, according to data from crypto exchange Binance. Following the second in 2016, it soared from $660 to around $900 in half a year. The third in May 2020: $8,600 to $15,700 by November that year. "This historical pattern suggests the halving could lead to potential significant [price] appreciation before and after the halving event,” Martens said. Bitcoin's recent rally On Wednesday, Bitcoin surpassed the $61,000 mark, extending a rally in the token into a fifth consecutive day. By 11:26 ET (16:26 GMT), the price of Bitcoin had risen by 7.9% to $61,251.2, placing the cryptocurrency within touching distance of an all-time high of more than $68,000 reached in 2021. It has now soared by more than 16% in the past seven days. Along with the anticipation surrounding the upcoming halving, Bitcoin’s stellar performance this year has been spurred on by a recent decision from U.S. authorities to give the green light to exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that directly track the price of the cryptocurrency. The approvals have drawn a slew of institutional capital into Bitcoin. "Overall, we continue to like the set-up for [Bitcoin]/Crypto and expect considerable upside in [calendar year 2024] with [Bitcoin] exiting the year at [around] $85K+ levels driven by ETF inflows outpacing available supply on exchanges," analysts at Compass Point wrote in a note. They added that possible Federal Reserve interest rate cuts in the second half of 2024 could encourage risk-taking among retail investors. Retail trading volumes have remained relatively muted despite the ETF approvals, in an indication that faith in the crypto industry may have been dented by a string of high-profile scandals and bankruptcies. An announcement from MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR), the biggest corporate holder of Bitcoin, that it had recently purchased 3,000 tokens for about $155 million has also supported the token. Meanwhile, a report from digital asset manager Coinshares showed that crypto investment products saw a fourth straight week of capital inflows. Digital asset investment products were bolstered by inflows of $598 million in the week to Feb. 23, according to the report. Bitcoin ETFs commanded the lion’s share of the inflows. Bitcoin products registered $570 million of inflows, with BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust notching $543.5 million of inflows. This largely offset sharp outflows from Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, as it grappled with a slew of new entrants to the Bitcoin ETF space. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/why-analysts-are-calling-the-next-potential-bitcoin-halving-pivotal-3318793