Самая инновационная платформа в мире для Форекс, CFD и Криптовалюта
Паевой индексный фонд!

Description

Oil prices rose in Asian trade on Friday and were set for a positive close to the week as concerns over supply disruptions stemming from Hurricane Francine helped crude rebound from near three-year lows. 

But the prices were still nursing steep losses from last week, and were trading only marginally above this week’s lows, as persistent fears over slowing demand stemmed crude’s advance. 

Brent oil futures expiring in November rose 0.8% to $72.57 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude futures increased by 0.9% to $69.58 per barrel by 09:43 ET. 

Both contracts are on track to break a string of weekly declines if the gains hold.

Hurricane Francine disrupts Gulf of Mexico production

Oil production and refinery activities in the Gulf of Mexico were battered by Hurricane Francine as it made landfall in Louisiana earlier this week, although it was later downgraded to a tropical storm. 

A slew of offshore platforms in the storm’s path were evacuated through the week, while operations in crude and natural gas shipping terminals were also suspended. 

The Gulf of Mexico accounts for nearly a quarter of all U.S. oil production, with any extended production halts heralding tighter supplies in the country. 

Oil markets grapple with demand concerns

But despite some positive momentum this week, oil prices were still trading close to three-year lows amid persistent concerns over slowing demand.

Weak economic signals from China were a key driver of these concerns, as traders positioned for potentially weaker demand in the world’s biggest oil importer.

Both the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and the International Energy Agency slashed their oil demand forecasts for 2024 in separate reports released earlier in the week, citing concerns over China.

But they also said demand would come from other sources in Asia, especially India, as the country sees outsized economic growth.

In the US., data showing a large build in gasoline and distillate inventories pushed up concerns that fuel demand in the country was slowing with the end of the travel-heavy summer season.

Description

Standard Chartered (OTC:SCBFF) resumed coverage of digital assets in a not Thursday, projecting an end-2024 price target for Bitcoin of approximately $125,000 if former President Donald Trump wins the upcoming election.

The firm's forecast reflects a broader positive outlook on Bitcoin and digital assets, driven by several key factors, regardless of the election outcome.

Standard Chartered outlined its expectations, stating, "We see BTC at c.USD 125,000 level at end-2024 under a Trump victory, or c.USD 75,000 level under Harris."

Both projections represent fresh all-time highs for Bitcoin, underscoring Standard Chartered's generally optimistic view on the cryptocurrency's future.

The analysts highlighted that the US election will influence digital assets, but they believe the impact will be less significant than in previous election cycles.

"Progress on relaxing regulations – particularly the repeal of SAB 121, which imposes stringent accounting rules on banks' digital asset holdings – will continue in 2025 no matter who is in the White House; it would just be slower under a Harris presidency," said the firm.

The anticipated regulatory progress is seen as a crucial factor supporting Bitcoin's price.

Additionally, Standard Chartered expects positive momentum from developments in US Treasury markets and a seasonal rebound in Bitcoin ETF inflows in October.

"Current developments in US Treasury markets – a re-steepening curve, with breakevens falling less than real yields and risk-neutral yields falling while term premium is stable – are building positive momentum for BTC," adds the firm.

Even if a Harris victory initially triggers a price decline, the analysts believe that subsequent market recognition of ongoing regulatory progress and other positive drivers will lead to a rebound.

Description

U.Today - Responding to a CNBC report that Bitcoin (BTC) could soon reach six figures regardless of who wins the U.S. election, Samson Mow said that this is a bearish estimate. According to Mow's previous speeches, the price of the first cryptocurrency is not less than $1 million, and Bitcoin will reach this milestone.

As of now, however, the price of the major cryptocurrency is $57,500, which is five figures, with its all-time high being almost 28% higher at around $74,000 per BTC.

At this price, Bitcoin has a total market capitalization of $1.14 trillion. Such a figure ranks Bitcoin as the eighth largest company in the world - higher than Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKa) - ironically, as the Wall St. trading legend is a well-known cryptocurrency skeptic.

If Bitcoin ever reaches $100,000, which is still a five-figure valuation, its market capitalization will be close to $2 trillion, which is more than Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), the fourth largest company in the world.

However, if it manages to hit the first seven-figure mark of $1,000,000 per BTC, then the cryptocurrency will have six times more market cap than Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), and that is just with the current supply of 19,753,159 BTC in circulation. What's more, it will surpass gold, even though the precious metal is currently the world's most valuable asset.

The question remains: is this a realistic goal for the largest cryptocurrency? For Samson Mow, it is a no-brainer; for someone like Peter Schiff, it is a mass delusion. Only time will tell who is right.

Description

The U.S. dollar slipped lower in early European trade Friday, as a rebound from seven-month lows faltered, ahead of Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s eagerly-anticipated speech at the Jackson Hole symposium. 

At 04:30 ET (09:30 GMT), the Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, traded 0.1% lower to 101.245, not far removed from lowest levels since Jan. 2. 

Dollar weakens ahead of Powell's speech

The dollar saw a small rebound earlier in the week, but has still registered losses of around 1% this week, heading for its fifth consecutive losing week.

This weakness followed concerns about a weakening economy and on expectations the Federal Reserve is close to cutting interest rates. 

The focus is now squarely on an address by Powell at the Jackson Hole Symposium later on Friday, where he is expected to provide more cues on interest rates and the economy.

“He will probably use this speech to prepare markets for a September cut, which is entirely priced in and has been largely anticipated by July’s Fed minutes and recent Fed speakers,” said analysts at ING, in a note. 

“The question is whether he will go as far as opening the door to a 50bp move – if not in September, at a later point this year.”

Markets are now pricing in almost three quarters chance of the Fed cutting rates by 25 basis points at its September meeting, the CME FedWatch tool showed, with a 50 bps cut becoming less likely.

Euro, sterling gain on weak dollar

In Europe, EUR/USD traded 0.1% higher to 1.1123, not far from the 13-month high it touched on Wednesday.

Eurozone consumers' inflation expectations over the next 12 months remained steady for the third month in a row in July, a European Central Bank survey showed on Friday.

This survey could be used by ECB policymakers as evidence that the public has faith in their ability to bring down inflation to their 2% goal while cutting interest rates.

The ECB has room to cut interest rates possibly two more times this year as inflation remains broadly on the declining path policymakers envisaged, ECB policymaker Martins Kazaks said. 

"We are broadly along the baseline of our projections and that is consistent with a gradual decline in interest rates," Kazaks, Latvia's central bank governor, said on the sidelines of the U.S. Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole Economic Symposium. 

GBP/USD traded 0.3% higher to 1.3129, just shy of the 13-month high it hit on Thursday after the release of strong activity data for August.

Markets are now pricing in more rate cuts from the Fed by year-end than for the European Central Bank or Bank of England.

Yen gains as Ueda signals rate hikes

In Asia, USD/JPY fell 0.2% to 145.99, with the yen in demand after the Bank of Japan’s Ueda said that short-term interest rates were still too low, and needed to be brought up further to hit neutral levels. 

He also reiterated the bank’s recent messaging that it will raise interest rates further if inflation remains steady. 

Description

Bitcoin price rose on Wednesday, extending a rebound from over five-month lows as bargain buyers stepped in and as sentiment improved slightly.

This trend was also reflected in broader crypto prices, continuing its gains from the prior session as the factors behind Monday’s rout- concerns over a U.S. recession, Japanese interest rate hikes and tensions in the Middle East- continued to weigh on sentiment. 

Bitcoin rose 4.3% to $57,190.9 by 09:13 ET (13:13 GMT). The token had slumped as low as $49,000 on Monday before rebounding from those levels. 

Bitcoin continues its rebound after Monday rout

Gains in the world’s biggest cryptocurrency continued after it rebounded nearly 4% on Tuesday.

The token still traded below levels seen before Monday’s rout, as crypto markets also struggled with the prospect of a mass sale by the U.S. government, as well as waning interest in the crypto derivatives market. 

Risk-off sentiment saw crypto derivatives, mainly exchange-traded funds- log steep outflows in the past week.

Optimism over an improved regulatory environment in the U.S. also waned as the 2024 presidential race heated up. Democratic nominee Kamala Harris was seen catching up with Republican nominee and pro-crypto candidate Donald Trump, a Bloomberg poll showed last week.

IMF flags progress in El Salvador talks, but Bitcoin a pain point 

The International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday that it had made progress in talks with El Salvador over a funding program for the Central American country, but its adoption of Bitcoin still remained a point of contention, a Reuters report showed.

The IMF and El Salvador appeared to have reach “preliminary understandings” on improving the country’s economy, and had discussed policies that could be supported by the IMF.

But the fund noted that while several risks projected from the country’s adoption of Bitcoin had not yet materialized, negotiations with El Salvador will be aimed at mitigating said risks. 

El Salvador adopted Bitcoin as legal tender in 2021, and had outlined sweeping plans to build infrastructure themed around the cryptocurrency. But these plans did not come to pass, as the country saw little improvement in its fiscal woes, and also found few takers for its planned "Bitcoin bonds" to fund the projects.

Crypto price today: Altcoins in the green

Broader crypto prices were a mixed bag on Wednesday, as a broader recovery in the sector lost momentum. 

World no.2 token Ether climbed 0.5% to $2,457.49, while XRP added 2.9%. 

ADA and SOL rose 3.8% and 10.5%, respectively. 

Among meme tokens, DOGE added 5.4%, while SHIB rose 3.4%. 

ARK Invest buys more Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) shares

Ark Invest bought an additional 19,892 shares of Coinbase, valued at $3.9 million, across three of its ETFs on Tuesday. This move comes as the firm, led by Cathie Wood, rebalances its portfolios following Monday’s market downturn.

Specifically, Ark Invest purchased 13,833 shares ($2.7 million) for its Innovation ETF (ARKK), 2,743 shares ($533,000) for its Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW), and 3,316 shares ($644,000) for its Fintech Innovation ETF (ARKF), based on the latest trade filings.

These purchases follow a significant buy of $17.8 million in Coinbase stock on Monday, marking the first purchase since June 2023 when Ark bought $21 million worth of COIN. According to Ark’s disclosures, COIN now constitutes the third-largest holding in its ARKK ETF, with an 8.7% weighting valued at $445.3 million as of August 6. In the ARKW fund, COIN is the fourth-largest holding at 6.8%, worth $84.4 million, and it is the largest holding in the ARKF fund at 9.8%, valued at $75.1 million.

On Tuesday, Coinbase shares rose 2.48% to close at $194.17. The gain is part of a recovery from a 15% drop on Monday morning, fueled by market volatility linked to U.S. recession fears and increased geopolitical tensions.

Coinbase shares rose an additional 1.3% in Wednesday's premarket.