2024-02-06 05:52

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters. Investing.com-- Gold prices steadied on Tuesday after tumbling sharply over the past week as a rally in the dollar paused for breath, with markets now watching for the yellow metal to potentially test a key support level. The near-term outlook for gold remained marred by persistent concerns over higher-for-longer U.S. interest rates, especially as markets began pricing the possibility that the Federal Reserve will keep rates static until June. Strong U.S. economic data and hawkish comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell were the key drivers of this notion, with both factors triggering sharp declines in gold prices over the past two sessions. The dollar rallied to a near three-month high, while U.S. Treasury yields also appreciated sharply in the face of higher-for-longer rates, which further pressured gold. Spot gold steadied at $2,026.33 an ounce, while gold futures expiring in April were flat at $2,042.40 an ounce by 00:23 ET (05:23 GMT). $2,000 support in focus as rate fears increase Several analysts said that spot gold prices were likely to test the $2,000 an ounce level in the coming days, especially if there was little change in the outlook for U.S. interest rates. The CME Fedwatch tool showed traders pricing in an 83% chance the Fed will keep rates steady in March, and were steadily dialing up bets for a similar move in May. Gold had briefly tested the $2,000 an ounce level earlier in January, but had just stopped shy of breaking below the support. Any moves below $2,000 could herald deeper losses in bullion prices, especially in the face of higher-for-longer U.S. rates. U.S. inflation data next week is expected to act as a key pivot point for prices, while several Fed officials are also set to speak this week. Higher-for-longer U.S. rates diminish gold’s appeal by increasing the opportunity cost of investing in the yellow metal. Copper rises as traders weigh China woes Among industrial metals, copper prices rose on Tuesday after logging four straight sessions of losses, as markets digested more weak economic signals from China. Copper futures expiring in March rose 0.5% to $3.7920 a pound, after losing more than $1 in the past four sessions. Prices were hit chiefly by a string of weak purchasing managers index readings from China, which is the world’s largest copper importer. The readings showed little recovery in business activity in January, particularly in the key manufacturing sector. Focus this week is now on Chinese inflation data for January, due on Thursday. The reading also comes a day before the week-long Lunar New Year holiday. https://www.investing.com/news/commodities-news/gold-prices-stem-losses-as-dollar-rally-pauses--2000-support-eyed-3293403

2024-02-06 04:54

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters. Investing.com-- Most Asian currencies rose slightly on Tuesday, recovering marginally after growing expectations of higher-for-longer U.S. interest rates pushed up the dollar and weighed heavily on regional markets. Regional currencies saw some relief as the U.S. dollar steadied after racing to near three-month highs this week. The dollar was buoyed chiefly by a string of hotter-than-expected U.S. economic readings, as well as comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who said that rates will remain steady in the time being. Australian dollar boosted by hawkish RBA The Australian dollar was the best performer among its Asian peers, rising 0.6% from an over 1-½ month low after the Reserve Bank of Australia kept interest rates steady, and warned of more rate hikes if inflation remained sticky. The RBA’s warning caught some traders off-guard, especially as recent declines in Australian inflation spurred bets that the RBA could signal interest rate cuts this year. But the bank gave no such indication on Tuesday. Other data pointed to more cooling in the Australian economy. While retail sales grew 0.3% quarter-on-quarter in the December quarter, they still shrank 1% from last year. Broader Asian currencies rose slightly. The Japanese yen added 0.1% after sinking to an over one-month low, while the Singapore dollar rose 0.1%. The Chinese yuan was flat, but was once again close to breaking below the 7.2 level against the dollar- its weakest level in 1-½ months. A string of weak purchasing managers index readings over the past week dented the currency, and also set a dour tone for upcoming inflation data for January. The inflation data is also due before the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, which begins this Friday. The Indian rupee tread water around the 83 level, with focus turning to a Reserve Bank of India meeting this Thursday. The RBI is widely expected to keep rates steady, while its forecasts for inflation and economic growth will be closely watched. The rupee had now largely reversed a mild boost from the Indian government unveiling a relatively conservative budget for the coming financial year, which was intended to help ease India’s massive fiscal deficit. The South Korean won jumped 0.5%, but remained in sight of a nearly two-month low. US rate outlook a key weight on Asian currencies Most Asian currencies were nursing steep losses over the past two sessions, as markets began steadily pricing out the chances of early interest rate cuts by the Fed. Higher-for-longer rates diminish the appeal of risk-driven, high-yielding assets, and also limit foreign capital flows into regional markets. Powell’s comments on late-Sunday reiterated the Fed’s earlier messaging that resilience in the economy gives the bank more headroom to keep monetary policy restrictive. This saw traders largely unwind bets that the Fed will begin trimming rates in March or May. The CME Fedwatch tool showed an 83% chance the Fed will keep rates steady in March, and a 35% chance the Fed will keep rates steady in May, up substantially from a 9.9% chance seen last week. https://www.investing.com/news/forex-news/asia-fx-drifts-higher-as-dollar-steadies-aussie-supported-by-rba-3293392

2024-02-06 01:31

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters. Investing.com -- Oil prices settled higher Tuesday, as traders cheered expectations for a slowdown in U.S. production that helped support sentiment on crude following signs of fresh progress toward a new Israel-Hamas ceasefire that could help ease geopolitical tensions. The West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbed 0.7% to $73.31 a barrel, and Brent oil futures expiring in April rose 0.8% to $78.69 a barrel, U.S. production expected to slow in 2024; fresh U.S. crude supply data eyed U.S. production has been recovering following a weather-related dip in January, but will likely slow from record levels in 2024, the Energy Information Agency said Tuesday as it cut its forecast for domestic oil output by 120,000 barrels per day to 170,000 bpd. Higher production from non-OPEC countries including the U.S. has kept fears about oversupply alive at time when OPEC's measures to curb supplies have been underwhelming. The forecast for slowing U.S. output comes ahead of the of crude inventory data from the American Petroleum Institute later Tuesday as well as a further report from EIA due Wednesday. Analysts forecast crude inventories fell by 2.1M barrels in the week ended Feb. 2 Prolonged Gaza ceasefire possible, but more work to get truce deal over the line U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken that an agreement to new ceasefile deal to halt the Israel-Hamas war is "possible" following a positive response from Palestinian militant group Hamas, though cautioned that there is "still a lot of work to do be done." Blinken is set to discuss the Hamas response with Israeli officials when he travels to the country on Wednesday. The prospect of a ceasefire agreement could help ease geopolitical tensions in the oil-rich Middle East and cool fears about supply disruptions at time when a pledge from U.S. to proceed with further retaliatory strikes in the region has stoked concerns about a wider regional conflict. https://www.investing.com/news/commodities-news/oil-prices-steady-as-focus-remains-on-russia-middle-east-disruptions-3293330

2024-02-05 18:54

Copyrighted Image by: Mundo Crypto PR Mizuho says Bitcoin ETF could be emerging as 'double whammy' for Coinbase (COIN) In a note to clients Monday, Mizuho maintained an Underperform rating and $60 price target on Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN), questioning whether the Bitcoin ETF is emerging as a double whammy for the cryptocurrency exchange. "The big hope for Coinbase heading into 2024 was that more Bitcoin ETF AUM would drive increased spot trading," said analysts. However, they explained that, in contrast, "outflows from ETFs where Coinbase is the custodian exceed inflows (i.e. -$6bn outflows from GBTC since January 11th vs. +$4.9bn estimated inflows to other seven ETFs that Coinbase custodies)." In addition, they noted that "spot volumes on Coinbase have abated following the initial excitement surrounding the ETF launch (i.e. $1.9bn ADTV since January 13th vs. $2.5bn in the 30 days leading up to the launch)." Due to the large discrepancy between retail trading fees and what Mizuho believes Coinbase earns for ETF custody, they expected the launch of the ETFs to put additional downward pressure on industry pricing. Analysts said that this moment appears to be nearing with the recent pricing changes at Coinbase. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/mizuho-says-bitcoin-etf-could-be-emerging-as-double-whammy-for-coinbase-432SI-3293065

2024-02-05 14:33

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters. AUSTIN, Texas - Core Scientific, Inc. (NASDAQ: CORZ), a prominent player in North American bitcoin mining, has announced significant operational updates for January 2024, showcasing an expansion in self-mining and enhanced energy efficiency in its mining fleet. The company reported producing 1,027 bitcoin through self-mining and an estimated 354 bitcoin from hosted miners in January. This activity marks a decrease from December 2023, where the figures stood at 1,177 and 449 bitcoin respectively. Despite the month-over-month production decline, Core Scientific emphasized the strategic deployment of 28,400 new Bitmain S19j XP (NASDAQ:XP) miners, which contributed to an increased self-mining energized hash rate of 1.7 EH/s and improved the fleet's energy efficiency by 5% to 26.44 J/TH. Core Scientific operates around 218,000 bitcoin miners across data centers in Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, North Dakota, and Texas. Approximately 167,000 of these are owned, constituting about 77% of the total number and accounting for an energized hash rate of 18.6 EH/s. The remaining 51,000 miners, representing 23%, are hosted for customers and produced the estimated 354 bitcoin in January. In addition to mining, Core Scientific has actively participated in grid support, reducing power consumption at its data centers to deliver 18,487 megawatt hours to local grid partners in January. This initiative assists in maintaining power stability during peak demand periods. Looking ahead, Core Scientific plans to continue its growth trajectory with the deployment of an additional 12,600 Bitmain S21 miners by the end of July 2024, which are expected to contribute 2.5 EH/s in energized hash rate at 17.5 J/TH. The company also noted its relisting on NASDAQ on January 24, 2024, which was accompanied by the issuance of new securities as part of its emergence and listing. Core Scientific issued 184,998,580 shares of new common stock, along with two tranches of warrants and new notes. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/core-scientific-ramps-up-bitcoin-mining-efficiency-93CH-3292926

2024-02-05 14:23

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters CASTLE ROCK, Colo. - Riot Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: NASDAQ:RIOT), a key player in Bitcoin mining, has revealed its unaudited production and operational figures for January 2024, noting a decrease in Bitcoin production compared to previous months. The company produced 520 Bitcoins in January, a 16% drop from December 2023 and a 30% decrease from January 2023. Despite the lower production, Riot's Bitcoin holdings increased by 4% month-over-month and 10% year-over-year, reaching 7,648 Bitcoins by the end of January. The company sold 212 Bitcoins in January, significantly down by 64% from December 2023 and 70% from January 2023, with net proceeds totaling $9.5 million. This represents a 62% and 31% decrease from December 2023 and January 2023, respectively. However, the average net price per Bitcoin sold rose to $44,860, up by 5% from December 2023 and 129% from January 2023. Riot's deployed hash rate and the number of deployed miners remained constant at 12.4 EH/s and 112,944, respectively, despite the production drop. The company benefited from $3.3 million in Power and Demand Response Credits due to its power curtailment efforts during Texas' extreme cold in January, which helped stabilize the grid. Looking ahead, Riot is developing its second large-scale facility, the Corsicana Facility, which is expected to add 400 megawatts of capacity in its first phase. The substation for this facility is scheduled to be energized by the end of March 2024, with operations to follow. The company anticipates a total self-mining hash rate capacity of 29 EH/s by the end of 2024, expecting to reach 38 EH/s upon full deployment in 2025. In preparation for the anticipated Bitcoin halving in April 2024, Riot plans to retain a larger proportion of its monthly Bitcoin production, leveraging its liquidity profile to become one of the largest Bitcoin holders. The information in this article is based on a press release. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/riot-platforms-reports-dip-in-bitcoin-production-93CH-3292906