The struggling cryptocurrency industry is still in a state of shock following the demoralising market meltdown earlier this year. The value of many widely traded tokens fell, and conventional wisdom about the advantages of digital money as an inflation hedge or a store of value was abandoned.
At the same time, numerous formerly well-known companies in the industry, such as cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius and hedge fund Three Arrows, failed as a result of constant market pressure.
Costs, though, have leveled off in recent weeks.
After falling from a peak of just under $69,000 in November, the world’s most popular cryptocurrency, bitcoin, has largely fluctuated between the $20,000 to $25,000 range. The Merge, the name given to ethereum’s transition to a greener, less energy-intensive blockchain system, hasn’t yet helped the corresponding token reach its previous highs of around $5,000.
Overall, volumes for cryptocurrency futures have also failed to gain traction. According to analytics firm Crypto Compare’s data provided to the Financial Times, total futures volumes have been stable over the last three months.
However, the recent relative stability of the industry’s most popular tokens has sparked discussion among traders over the precise moment that the so-called “crypto winter” has given way to spring. Stephen Chipolina
Costs for US clients decreased in September?
A decrease in power prices is expected to have helped US inflation increase in September at a somewhat slower rate than it did in August.
According to economists surveyed by Reuters, the main US client value index would decline by 8.1% year over year in September as opposed to 8.3% in August. In contrast to the 0.1% increase in August, the CPI is predicted to have increased by 0.2% on a monthly basis.
According to Barclays analyst Jonathan Hill, who anticipates the data to show a roughly 6% decrease in petrol prices, the drag on the headline CPI is more likely to be due in part to a decline in power prices.
Forecasts, however, indicate that the ongoing rise in housing costs may support core CPI, which excludes the effects of the volatile food and energy sectors.
The Federal Reserve’s September meeting minutes must be released one day after the CPI data is due. The market’s expectations for the Fed’s November meeting are more likely to be shaped by both the information and the records.
Futures markets are currently pricing in anticipation of the next month’s interest rate increasing by 0.75 percentage points for the fourth consecutive month. That opinion might be supported by the tenor of the minutes and the level of inflation. Kate Duguid
Did the UK’s GDP fall in August?
The UK economy is expected to have hardly contracted in August after remaining stagnant for much of this year due to high prices impacting consumer spending and business activity.
According to economists surveyed by Reuters, data will be released on Wednesday and is expected to show that the GDP declined 0.1% between July and August after flatlining in the three months prior to July.
Additionally, it is projected that the data will show that output in the services sector increased by 0.1% while industrial manufacturing contracted by 0.2% month over month.
The economy is anticipated to contract by 0.2% in the three months leading up to August compared to the previous three months.
Economists claim that despite the federal government’s measures to help with rising power prices and projected tax cuts, the UK’s financial picture has not improved.
To speed up development, the government has frozen residential power bills and reduced taxes. However, some experts predict a severe recession in the UK economy as a result of the “mini” Budget’s disastrous impact on expectations for rising interest rates, which also included disastrous effects on borrowing costs and housing costs.
After the coverage announcement on September 23, Deutsche Bank analyst Sanjay Raja stated that the UK financial outlook “has worsened significantly.” With unemployment expected to increase starting in the following year, he anticipates that family spending and business investment would be lower than they were before the federal government announced its tax cuts.
Although fiscal policies should increase real disposable incomes, Raja noted that “tighter financial conditions will counteract much of the advantages in fiscal policy.”
He now predicts that the UK economy will only recover to pre-pandemic levels by 2024. This stands in stark contrast to every other G7 country, all of whom have already recovered the ground lost due to the health calamity.
