2024-03-21 04:17

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters. Investing.com-- Most Asian currencies rose sharply on Thursday, while the dollar tumbled from two-week highs after comments from the Federal Reserve kept expectations of interest rate cuts largely in play. The Fed kept interest rates steady on Wednesday and maintained its forecast for a 75 basis point reduction in rates this year. The move, particularly the Fed’s outlook, ramped up appetite for high-yielding, risk-driven assets. Hawkish signals from some Asian economies also boosted regional currency markets. USDJPY falls from four-month high on Fed signals, BOJ rate hike The Japanese yen strengthened sharply on Thursday, with the USDJPY pair falling 0.5% from a four-month high to 150.53. The prospect of U.S. interest rate cuts and a more hawkish Bank of Japan bode well for the yen, which was battered by rising U.S. interest rates over the past year. Purchasing managers index data for March showed some resilience in the Japanese economy, with manufacturing activity shrinking less than expected, while the services sector grew further. The BOJ hiked interest rates for the first time in 17 years this week, citing some confidence in the Japanese economy. Analysts said that any more monetary tightening by the central bank will be largely driven by the path of Japan’s economy. AUDUSD surges on red-hot labor data The Australian dollar was the best performer in Asia on Thursday, with the AUDUSD pair surging 0.6%. Gains in the Aussie were fueled chiefly by a substantially stronger-than-expected reading on the labor market, which also showed unemployment falling to a six-month low. Labor market strength gives the Reserve Bank of Australia more headroom to keep interest rates higher for longer. This notion helped Aussie bulls to look past less hawkish signaling from the RBA at a meeting earlier this week. Dollar slides as Fed rate cut bets grow The dollar index and dollar index futures fell sharply in Asian trade on Thursday, amid growing bets that the Fed will begin cutting rates by as soon as June. Fed officials said the bank was still considering at least a 75 bps cut in rates this year, while Fed Chair Jerome Powell also expressed some confidence in inflation remaining on a path towards the central bank’s 2% annual target. Traders were now pricing in an over 70% chance the Fed will cut rates by 25 bps in June, according to the CME Fedwatch tool. Broader Asian currencies strengthened on this notion. The South Korean won’s USDKRW pair slid 0.3%, while the Singapore dollar’s USDSGD fell 0.2%. The Indian rupee’s USDINR pair was flat at around 83.07, while the Chinese yuan’s USDCNY also tread water around 7.1986. Sentiment towards the yuan was dented by top People’s Bank of China officials signaling that they had enough headroom to enact more rate cuts this year. https://www.investing.com/news/forex-news/asia-fx-surges-dollar-sinks-on-feds-rate-cut-signals-3347223

2024-03-21 02:52

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters. Investing.com-- Gold prices hit a record high in Asian trade on Thursday, tracking a sharp drop in the dollar after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates steady and signaled that it was still considering rate cuts this year. The dollar slid after the Fed meeting, sinking 0.6% and buoying the broader commodity complex. Copper prices rose back towards 11-month highs, while other precious metal prices also rose. But gold was a standout performer, notching new highs on the prospect of lower interest rates in the coming months. Spot gold rose as much as 1.2% to a record high of $2,222.14 an ounce, while gold futures expiring in April surged more than 2% to a record high of $2,224.80 an ounce. Both instruments trimmed some gains by 22:27 ET (02:27 GMT), but were above the $2,200 level. Gold and broader metal markets had seen some consolidation ahead of the Fed meeting. Fed keeps rate cut hopes alive, June bets grow Fed Chair Jerome Powell said that while he did see some recent stickiness in inflation, the underlying story of easing inflation remained intact. This was coupled with Fed officials forecasting a 75 basis point drop in interest rates by end-2024. Such a scenario bodes well for gold, especially after rising interest rates dented the yellow metal over the past two years. Traders were now pricing in a 73.4% chance that the Fed’s first rate cut will come as soon as June, according to the CME Fedwatch tool. Still, the Fed also substantially upgraded its outlook for the U.S. economy in 2024, now forecasting growth of 2.1%, compared to prior forecasts of 1.4%. This could potentially limit safe haven demand for gold, amid increasing optimism over a soft landing for the U.S. economy. Other precious metals also rose sharply on Thursday. Platinum futures jumped 0.9% to $920.0 an ounce, while silver futures surged 3.3% to $25.927 an ounce. Copper rally resumes, PMIs in focus Three-month copper futures on the London Metal Exchange jumped 0.6% to $9,053.50 a ton, while one-month U.S. copper futures rose 0.4% to $4.1078 a pound. Both contracts were close to 11-month highs hit earlier in the week. Focus was now on a string of key purchasing managers index readings from major economies, due in the coming days, for more potential cues on the path of copper demand. Copper prices rose sharply this month on potential supply shocks arising from production cuts by China's biggest copper refiners. https://www.investing.com/news/commodities-news/gold-prices-surge-to-record-highs-above-2200-on-fed-rate-cut-hopes-3347194

2024-03-21 02:18

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters. Investing.com-- Oil prices settled lower Thursday, as growing expectations for a Gaza ceasefire and a stronger dollar weighed, though the prospect of tighter supplies continued to offer support. At 14:30 ET (18:30 GMT), the U.S. crude futures settled 0.3% lower at $81.07 a barrel and the Brent contract dropped 0.3% to $85.67 a barrel. Growing Gaza ceasefire hopes, stronger dollar Expectations for Israel-Hamas ceasefire were boosted by Reuters report that the U.S. is set to table a U.N. draft resolution on Friday demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza lasting about six weeks. The ongoing Israel-Hamas war has continued to threaten the risk of broader conflict in the Middle East that many fear would disrupt crude supplies in the oil rich region. Profit taking was also attributed to the weaker session for oil prices, which have moved into overbought territory, ING said. "The rally in oil has started to fade with the market in overbought territory and little in the way of a fresh catalyst to keep the upward momentum going," said analysts at ING, in a note. The dollar, meanwhile, rebounded from a slip on Wednesday following weakness in the pound as the Bank of England delivered a dovish pause. The remaining two hawkish monetary policy committee members dropped their call for rate cuts, stoking investors bets that the central bank is likely to cut rates in June, sending the GBP/USD nearly 1% lower. Supply outlook remains tight, US inventories shrink Expectations of tighter oil supplies, which were a key driver of crude gains in the past two weeks, remained largely in play. Official U.S. inventory data showed on Wednesday that crude oil inventories shrank more than expected in the week to March 15. The draw was driven by increased refinery activity and higher oil exports. A bigger-than-expected draw in gasoline inventories also signaled that fuel demand was picking up from a winter lull. Adding to recent optimism that supply and demand is coming into balance, the slew of recent Ukrainian drone strikes has taken out about 12% of Russia’s total oil processing capacity, ANZ Research said, and will likely tighten "the market amid the ongoing cutbacks from OPEC." https://www.investing.com/news/commodities-news/oil-prices-advance-as-dollar-sinks-on-feds-rate-cut-talk-3347189

2024-03-20 23:28

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters Ethereum Climbs 10% As Investors Gain Confidence Investing.com - Ethereum was trading at $3,530.72 by 19:27 (23:27 GMT) on the Investing.com Index on Wednesday, up 10.04% on the day. It was the largest one-day percentage gain since March 20. The move upwards pushed Ethereum's market cap up to $424.04B, or 16.59% of the total cryptocurrency market cap. At its highest, Ethereum's market cap was $569.58B. Ethereum had traded in a range of $3,063.60 to $3,530.83 in the previous twenty-four hours. Over the past seven days, Ethereum has seen a drop in value, as it lost 11.82%. The volume of Ethereum traded in the twenty-four hours to time of writing was $36.98B or 21.82% of the total volume of all cryptocurrencies. It has traded in a range of $3,063.6050 to $4,009.9158 in the past 7 days. At its current price, Ethereum is still down 27.41% from its all-time high of $4,864.06 set on November 10, 2021. Elsewhere in cryptocurrency trading Bitcoin was last at $67,839.7 on the Investing.com Index, up 9.33% on the day. Tether USDt was trading at $1.0003 on the Investing.com Index, a gain of 0.04%. Bitcoin's market cap was last at $1,335.28B or 52.23% of the total cryptocurrency market cap, while Tether USDt's market cap totaled $103.80B or 4.06% of the total cryptocurrency market value. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/ethereum-climbs-10-as-investors-gain-confidence-3347091

2024-03-20 20:36

On March 14, 2024, Sphere 3D (ANY) terminated its Master Hosting Services Agreement, dated April 4, 2023, between the Company and Rebel Mining Company, LLC (the “Agreement”), in accordance with its terms. The termination of the Agreement is effective immediately. The Company has reserved all rights, including the right to assert damages for breach of contract under the Agreement. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/sphere-3d-terminates-master-hosting-services-agreement-with-rebel-mining-432SI-3346756

2024-03-20 16:54

Copyrighted Image by: Reuters Ethereum price has made fresh gains today, showing resilience amidst a volatile crypto market. Gains are sustained despite the fact that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has intensified its legal efforts to classify Ethereum as a security, potentially affecting its regulatory status and ETF approvals, according to the report in Fortune. Ethereum price initially dipped on the headlines regarding regulatory scrutiny before recovering to trade more than 3% on the day. Elsewhere, Insights from derivatives markets signaled a decrease in open interest on ETH/USDT contracts and a reduction in the funding rate, suggesting possible capitulation by buyers. However, caution is advised as Ethereum approaches strong liquidation areas between $3,000 and $2,800, as well as around $4,100. Recent developments include Glassnode suggesting Bitcoin's correction offers buying opportunities ahead of the April halving, and MicroStrategy strengthening its crypto reserves with a significant BTC acquisition. Technical analysis on the H4 chart revealed Ethereum's price drop from $4,100 to $3,050 and finding stability around the Fibonacci 50% level, hinting at potential buying opportunities. Ethereum price is currently hovering just above its 50-day moving average, maintaining a bullish structure, albeit with some revisions in its bullish momentum. Yet, worries persist about the surge in meme tokens, reminiscent of the ICO frenzy of 2018, as noted by CryptoQuant's founder. Despite institutional support, vigilance and risk management remain crucial to navigate the evolving cryptocurrency terrain. The crypto market anticipates stabilization following a corrective phase, with Ethereum's performance closely tied to Bitcoin's dynamics amid impending major central bank meetings later in the week. Ethereum price is trading at $3187.5 as of writing. https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/ethereum-price-whipsaws-on-headlines-concerning-secs-regulatory-probe-3346343