Thread: ForexMart's Forex News

August 9. Gold price reaches lowest since March

At the beginning of a new trading week, the price of gold fell to its lowest level since the end of March, reaching $1.677.90 an ounce. The precious metal was put under pressure from strong statistics on the US labor market, which heightened fears of the Fed curtailing stimulus measures. In the middle of the day, the asset managed to recover somewhat: the current quotation is $ 1.745 per ounce.

Last Friday, the US Department of Labor presented statistics on the labor market in the country, which turned out to be better than forecasted. In particular, unemployment in the country in July fell to 5.4% from the June level of 5.9%. Analysts had expected unemployment to fall to 5.7%.

The number of people employed in non-agricultural sectors of the economy increased by 943 thousand instead of the expected 870 thousand.

The pressure of these data on gold is explained by the fact that strong statistics on the labor market, indicating the recovery of the American economy, may prompt the Fed to limit support measures, which will provide strong support for the dollar. And the strengthening of the greenback will inevitably restrain the demand for gold, which will become less available when purchased in another currency.

August 10. Bitcoin Price Prediction: $100,000 In Near Future

The first cryptocurrency is about to break the record again. It is expected to rise to $ 50,000. At the same time, the value of $100,000 is not the limit for bitcoin, experts believe.

In the last month of summer, the outlook for the digital asset market is positive. Many marketeers expect the uptrend from the BTC to continue, given the fact that it periodically demonstrated growth during the summer. The positive trend of the last few days indicates the bullish mood on the crypto market. Traders and investors expect BTC to return to the $ 50,000 level, which kicked off a massive Bitcoin sell-off in May this year.

According to technical analysis, the leading digital asset received a bullish momentum at the support level near the 200-day moving average. This happened following the resistance level breakout of flat near $ 40,000. On Tuesday morning, Bitcoin was trading at $45,701, giving hope for further growth.

According to analysts, over the past month, cryptocurrency has risen in price by 33%. And this is only the start. According to experts, the successful implementation of the London hard fork on the Ethereum network became the driver of the Bitcoin's growth. This helped Ethereum to rise, giving Bitcoin a chance for similar growth.

At the moment, the crypto market is far from euphoric, but it is on a positive wave. According to Fairlead Strategies experts, the leading digital asset has successfully overcome three resistance levels and is ready to move on. Over the past three weeks, the rise in price of bitcoin occurred at a gigantic pace. If this rate is maintained, it will be able to rise to $ 51,000, Fairlead Strategies emphasize. Currency strategists for Bloomberg Intelligence proceeded further with their forecasts. According to Mike McGlone, the capabilities of the first cryptocurrency are truly limitless. A Bloomberg Intelligence analyst claims that BTC will reach $100,000 in the near future.

Only negative economic factors can interrupt the success of the first cryptocurrency, experts say. They are mainly related to the current monetary strategy of the Federal Reserve and the tough policy of the American authorities. It should be noted that the White House has set a course for strengthening economic and political control. Cryptocurrencies also fell into the scope of its activity. The main tasks of the American authorities are to increase taxes on digital assets and abandon anonymity in the cryptosphere.

However, positive initiatives can lead to negative consequences, experts warn. On the one hand, risks for investors are reduced and the transparency of cryptocurrency transactions increases, and on the other hand, there is an opportunity for various frauds and a number of initiatives that can redound on holders of digital currencies. This particularly applies to the increase in taxes to financially support the American economy, which is showing long-awaited signs of recovery and rebound.

August 11. The fall in oil prices has slowed down

World oil prices on Wednesday show a slowdown in the decline after the release of statistics on crude oil inventories in the United States.

The current Brent oil price is $70 per barrel. A few hours earlier, the price of «black gold» dropped to $69.30 per barrel. WTI futures fell to $ 66.97, later recovering to $67.90 a barrel.

The quotes were supported by data from the US Department of Energy, according to which stocks of raw materials in the country fell by 0.4 million barrels to 438.8 million. However, these figures turned out to be worse than the forecast for a decline of 1.27 million. US gasoline inventories fell by 1.4 million barrels, to 227.5 million.

At the same time, the asset is still under pressure. The media reported that the United States is calling on OPEC + to increase oil production to curb the rise in gasoline prices. However, the organization has not yet considered this issue, not excluding, however, discussion in the future.

August 12. Macroeconomic indicators of Great Britain

Today was quite rich in macroeconomic publications from the UK.

According to a report by the UK's National Statistical Office (ONS), the country's GDP growth rate increased by 1% in June 2021, compared to 0.6% growth in the previous month (revised from 0.8%). Analysts had forecast a 0.8% rise in the indicator.

UK GDP in the second quarter of 2021 increased by 4.8% qoq after falling by 1.6% in the first quarter (revised from -1.5%). The statistics were in line with analysts' forecasts.

In addition, the department provided data on industrial production in Britain. Industrial production in June fell 0.7% month-on-month after rising 0.6% in May (revised from 0.8%). Analysts predicted a growth of 0.3%. In annual terms, the indicator in June increased by 8.3%.

Construction output fell 1.3% in June from the previous month, after falling 0.7% in May (revised from -0.8%). Analysts had forecast an increase in June by 1.1%. In annual terms, the value of the indicator increased by 30%.

The UK trade deficit was £ 12bn in June, compared with a £ 9.6bn deficit in May (revised from £ 8.5bn). Analysts had forecast a June trade deficit of £ 9.1 billion.

August 13. German Ministry of Economy: The jump in inflation is temporary

The German authorities expect that the recent acceleration in inflation in the country will be temporary, as it is largely due to special factors that will disappear early next year.

According to the country's Federal Bureau of Statistics (Destatis), annual consumer price inflation in Germany has accelerated more than expected and peaked since 1993. The figure, according to final estimates, rose to 3.8% in July from 2.3% in June.

The main reason for the jump in inflation was the base effect from a temporary reduction in VAT rates in the second half of 2020. Moreover, the department expects that inflation will slow down significantly after this effect disappears. «There are now no signs of a wage-price spiral that could lead to persistent high inflation,» the Economy Ministry said.

The ministry also noted that the service sector benefits from the easing of coronavirus restrictions, while the manufacturing sector is struggling with supply chain bottlenecks.

August 16. US stock exchanges decline amid risk aversion

US stock exchanges are declining on Monday amid a deterioration in risk appetite after the release of morning macro statistics from China, which did not meet expectations.

In particular, industrial production in the country in July grew weaker than expected – by only 6.4% y/y instead of the expected 7.8%, and retail sales increased by only 8.5%, although analysts had predicted an increase of 11.5%. Asian stock indexes immediately showed a decline, as well as European stock exchanges.

Analysts note that economic data from China «spoiled the mood» in the markets, and weaker retail sales and industrial production raised questions about whether it is realistic to maintain the momentum of the economic recovery.

American stock exchanges are also in the red zone. The Dow Jones Industrial Index (DJIA) fell to 35,414.53, the NASDAQ index of high-tech companies – to 14,652. 01, the S&P 500 broad market index – fell to 4,448. 57 points.

Tomorrow, the macrostatistics block is expected to be released directly in the United States. Data on industrial production and retail sales in July will be announced. Forecasts suggest an increase in industrial production by 0.5% m/m and a decrease in retail sales by 0.2%.

August 17. Oil prices are rising, despite weak demand in Asia

The price of oil is growing moderately on Tuesday, recovering from yesterday's fall to the level of $68.27 per barrel. The current Brent quote is $69.80. WTI crude oil has recovered to $67.30 per barrel.

At the last session, the pressure on the «black gold» was exerted by data from China, according to which, the daily volume of oil refining in China, the largest importer, fell to the lowest since May 2020 in July. This was due to a reduction in production by independent factories due to tighter quotas, high inventories and lower profits.

Growth in industrial production and retail sales in China also slowed sharply in July and turned out to be weaker than expected, as new coronavirus outbreaks and floods reduced business activity.

What else is going on in the oil market:

US shale oil production in September is expected to grow to 8.1 million barrels per day, the highest since April 2020.

Last week, the US called on OPEC to increase supplies to contain the rise in gasoline prices, which they consider a threat to the global economic recovery. However, neither the organization itself nor its partners recognized the need to increase oil supplies to the market beyond the planned one.

August 18. China intends to tighten regulation of excessively high incomes

The Chinese authorities intend to tighten control over «excessively high incomes» and to encourage those companies that will share their wealth with the public. At the same time, the ruling party called «common prosperity» its top priority.

This became known from the results of the meeting of the Central Commission on Financial and Economic Affairs of the Chinese Communist Party. Securing «common prosperity» has become a major topic of political debate in the country in recent months. This term is usually understood to mean moderate wealth for all, not just some. In particular, the government will force the wealthy Chinese to pay more taxes, which will help to resolve the resulting inequality in income.

Recall that China's largest entrepreneurs have begun to feel pressure from the authorities since the $34.4 billion IPO of Jack Ma's Ant Group was canceled last year, which would have been the largest in history.

A little later, the Chinese taxi aggregator Didi held an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange, ignoring the ban of the authorities. Then Didi raised more than $4.4 billion. However, this did not pass without consequences, and two days after the IPO, the local regulator launched an investigation into Didi, demanding that it stop registering new users, and later demanded that the service be removed from the app stores.

In early July, the State Council of China announced a review of the rules for IPOs of Chinese companies abroad and increased supervision of those companies that have already conducted a listing. To regulate placements abroad, Beijing has already begun to develop changes in legislation that will close the loophole to circumvent restrictions on attracting foreign investment. Such news led to the fact that many large investment funds sold securities of Chinese companies that are listed in the United States.

August 19. Analysts predict the growth of Ethereum 10 thousand times

Analysts expect that after the upgrade of Ethereum to protocol 2.0, the altcoin price will rise from the current $3 thousand to $20-40 thousand.

In January 2021, experts already predicted that the cost of the cryptocurrency could exceed $10 thousand. In their opinion, the Ethereum update will allow the blockchain to approach such payment systems as Mastercard and Visa in terms of transaction volume.

Moreover, protocol 2.0 will allow the original blockchain to scale and make it more user-friendly. The main feature of the update will be the network's transition to Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus – it will replace the Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus on which the blockchain is currently running.

The main difference between PoS and PoW is that in order to maintain the operation of the PoS network, miners who generate computing power are not needed. The efficiency of the blockchain is provided by the holders of digital coins, who receive a reward for this.

On August 5, the London update already took place on the Ethereum network, which completely changed the mechanism for calculating transaction fees. Now part of the commission that miners previously received as a reward is burned.

Experts also note that Ethereum will be able to surpass Bitcoin in capitalization only if the main cryptocurrency remains at $50 thousand, while ether will rise in price to $10 thousand.

August 23. Oil rises in price after seven days of falling

At the beginning of the new trading week, oil prices began to rise after several days of decline. The current price of Brent is $67.35 per barrel, WTI has risen in price to $64.70. The decline in quotations continued for seven consecutive sessions, which is the longest such period since February 2018.

The market was supported today by news that the Chinese authorities were able to contain a new wave of the spread of Covid-19: on August 23, not a single new case of coronavirus infection was detected in the country. However, the new Delta virus strain continues to pose a threat to many other countries, as well as to global oil demand.

An additional factor in the growth of oil prices, analysts say, the purchase of assets at low prices and the positive dynamics of other asset classes.

The focus of the markets this week is the annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole and the speech of the chairman of the Federal Reserve System (FRS) Jerome Powell. Investors are interested in the question of when the American regulator intends to start curtailing the asset repurchase program. In addition, traders are looking forward to the next meeting of representatives of the OPEC + countries, scheduled for September 1.