Tuesday, March 17
Bitcoin climbed back above $70,000 on Friday, after sinking to a 16-month low earlier, lifted by a sharp rebound in technology shares and precious metals following a global rout that had hammered a broad swathe of risk assets. The world's largest cryptocurrency was last up more than 11% at $70,231, rising as high as $71,464.96 and recouping losses that pushed it to $60,017.60, the lowest level since October 24, earlier on. Bitcoin posted its largest one-day gain since March 2023, but was down roughly 8% this week. "It feels like a day of consolidation for risk assets that have been under pressure this week," said Shaun Osborne, chief currency strategist at Scotiabank in Toronto. The digital currency market has struggled for months since a record crash last October sent bitcoin
Oil prices settled higher on Friday, reversing earlier losses as traders worried that this week's talks between the U.S. and Iran had failed to reduce the risk of a military conflict between the two countries. Brent crude futures settled at $68.05 a barrel, up 50 cents, or 0.74%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude finished up 26 cents, or 0.41%, at $63.55 a barrel. In overnight trading, both benchmarks fell, but during the U.S. session both Brent and WTI rose more than $1 a barrel before moderating gains toward settlement. Iran and the U.S. held negotiations via Omani mediation to try to overcome sharp differences over Tehran's nuclear program. "We keep going back and forth on this Iran situation," said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital. "It's better one day or even one
Gold rebounded on Friday and was set for a weekly gain, helped by bargain hunting, a slightly weaker dollar and lingering concerns over U.S.-Iran talks in Oman, while silver recovered from a 1-1/2-month low. Spot gold rose 3.9% to $4,954.92 per ounce by 2:18 p.m. ET (1918 GMT), recouping losses during a volatile Asia session following Thursday's 3.9% decline. The yellow metal was headed for a weekly gain of about 2%. U.S. gold futures for April delivery settled 1.8% higher at $4,979.80 per ounce. CME Group had flagged a delay in publishing metals settlement, earlier in the day. The U.S. dollar index fell 0.2%, making greenback-priced bullion cheaper for overseas buyers. "The gold market is seeing perceived bargain hunting from bullish traders," said Jim Wyckoff, senior anal
The dollar slipped from two-week highs on Friday, returning some safe-haven gains as risk assets rebounded from a deep rout driven by concerns over a surge in AI-related spending this year. Even so, the buck remained on track for a weekly rise and trimmed earlier losses against the Japanese yen after U.S. data showed consumer sentiment improving in February, despite lingering concerns about jobs and rising costs of living. Meanwhile, the yen is headed for its worst week against the dollar since October, wiping out most of January's hefty gains as traders await Sunday's national election. "What we are seeing is some correlation reversals," said Dan Tobon, head of G10 FX strategy, Citi in New York. "Equities are up today, and so, as a result, you're seeing a bit of dollar decline as
