Bitcoin price today dips to $116.8k.
Bitcoin fell slightly on Friday as a recent rally on optimism over lower U.S. interest rates ran dry, while markets were also reeling from somewhat hawkish signals from the Bank of Japan.
Broader crypto prices also mostly retreated after recouping some of their late-August losses this week, although caution over crypto markets still remained in play.
Bitcoin fell 0.3% to $116,879.6 by 01:43 ET (05:43 GMT). The world’s largest crypto was set to add 0.9% this week.
Buying action by major corporate treasuries– chiefly Strategy (MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR)) did little to shore up prices this week. Neither did the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission outlining easier rules to list crypto exchange-traded products.
Bitcoin stalls as post-Fed rally cools, BOJ rings hawkish
Bitcoin recouped some of its late-August losses through the first two weeks of September, aided mostly by dip-buying and as markets cheered a widely expected interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve this week.
European stocks edge higher.
European stocks edged higher Friday, ending the week on a positive note in the wake of the rate cut by the U.S. Federal Reserve.
At 03:02 ET (07:02 GMT), the DAX index in Germany gained 0.2%, the CAC 40 in France climbed 0.2% and the FTSE 100 in the U.K. fell 0.1%.
The decision by the U.S. central bank to cut interest rates, for the first time this year, has boosted global sentiment even as the move was widely expected and Chair Jerome Powell took a measured stance regarding further reductions in borrowing costs.
Helping the tone was the relative optimism from the European Central Bank last week, as it raised its 2025 GDP growth forecast to 1.2% from 0.9% last year amid what ECB President Christine Lagarde called “resilience in domestic demand.”
The Bank of Spain this week lifted its 2025 growth forecast to 2.6%, while Europe’s biggest economy, Germany, is likely to have a significant boost to its GDP as it leashes big public spending on infrastructure and defence projects, combined with tax cuts.
Oil prices fall.
Oil prices fell on Friday as worries about fuel demand in the United States outweighed expectations that the year’s first interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve would spur greater consumption.
Brent crude futures were down 17 cents, or 0.3%, at $67.27 a barrel by 0656 GMT, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were down 19 cents, also 0.3%, at $63.38.
But both benchmarks were still on track to end higher for a second straight week.
The Fed cut its policy rate by a quarter of a percentage point on Wednesday and indicated more cuts would follow as it responded to signs of weakness in the jobs market.
Lower borrowing costs typically boost demand for oil and push prices higher.
“The market has been caught between conflicting signals,” said Priyanka Sachdeva, an analyst at Phillip Nova.
On the demand side, all energy agencies, including the Energy Information Administration, have signalled concern about weakening demand, tempering expectations of significant near-term price upside, she added.
“On the supply side, planned production increases from OPEC+ and signs of oversupply in U.S. fuel-product inventories are weighing on sentiment.”
An increase of 4 million barrels in U.S. distillate stockpiles outstripping market expectations of a gain of 1 million barrels, raised worries about demand in the world’s top oil consumer and pressured prices. [EIA/S]
Economic data also added to concerns.
Joblessness claims data this week indicated the U.S. labour market has softened, with both demand for, and supply of, workers, falling, while single-family homebuilding plunged to a near 2-1/2-year low in August amid a glut of unsold new houses.
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