【TOP1 Morning】U.S. dollar rebounds, Bitcoin breaks 50,000, oil price closes at 13-month high

Forex: US dollar rose 0.21%

The dollar rose 0.21% against a basket of currencies to 90.508. It had previously fallen to 90.117, the lowest level since January 26.

Bitcoin broke through $50,000 and hit an all-time high of $50,602, but it recently fell back to $48,675.18. Boosted by Tesla’s announcement that it has purchased $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency has risen by approximately 68% so far this year.

The euro reversed its upward trend against the dollar and fell 0.10% in late trading. Rising oil prices briefly boosted the Canadian dollar and Norwegian krone.

The dollar also rose against the safe-haven yen. The yen fell below the 200-day moving average against the dollar and hit multi-year lows against the euro, the Australian dollar and the Swiss franc.

The pound slashed its gains against the U.S. dollar. After hitting its highest level since April 2018, it was basically flat against the U.S. dollar, after the pound rose because of the progress made in vaccination in the UK.

The risk-sensitive Australian dollar against the U.S. dollar once hit a one-month high of $0.7805, and the New Zealand dollar against the U.S. dollar hit a five-week high of $0.7268, and then both fell.

Gold: Spot gold continues to weaken

Affected by the strengthening of US Treasury yields, gold prices fell sharply on Tuesday. Spot gold closed at 1794.45 US dollars per ounce, down 24.04 US dollars or 1.32%. The price of gold once touched the lowest level since February 4 at $1,789.32 per ounce.

After rising to a 6-and-a-half-year high, platinum fell back in shock.

Gold is seen as a hedge against the inflation expected due to the massive economic stimulus plan. The economic stimulus plan also pushed up the yield on the 10-year US Treasury bond and increased the opportunity cost of non-yield gold.

In addition, the strong rise in the US dollar index also put pressure on gold. The New York Federal Reserve announced that the business climate index rose by 8.6 points to 12.1 in February, the highest level since July. The dollar continued its strong upward momentum, while the decline in gold prices accelerated. According to a survey by The Wall Street Journal, economists had expected the index to be 5.9. A reading higher than zero indicates that the situation has improved.

Crude oil: oil prices closed higher

The cold wave in the southern United States led to the closure of oil wells and refineries in Texas, bringing oil prices to a 13-month high on Tuesday.

The settlement price of US crude oil futures rose 1% to US$60.05 per barrel, which was the highest since early January 2020. The settlement price of Brent crude oil futures rose by US$0.05, or 0.1%, to US$63.35 per barrel, close to the 13-month high touched on the previous trading day.

The supply of crude oil is expected to increase in the spring. Sources in the OPEC+ alliance formed by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies said that in view of the rebound in oil prices, OPEC+ oil-producing countries may relax their supply restrictions after April.

Stock market: Dow closed higher

The Dow Jones Industrial Average of the US stock market hit a new closing high on Tuesday, and the cyclical sector rose because the US is expected to offer more financial aid to help the economy get out of the downturn caused by the epidemic.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 63.82 points or 0.2% to 31,522.22 points; the S&P 500 index closed down 2.25 points or 0.06% to 3,932.58 points; the Nasdaq index closed down 47.98 points or 0.34% to 14,047.50 points.

"Since this week, we have taken a positive view of the Biden administration's efforts to launch a large-scale assistance program, and the market has responded positively to this," said Quincy Krosby, chief market strategist at Prudential Financial Group.

However, the Nasdaq index fell because technology stocks fell, and concerns about rising interest rates made the S&P 500 almost unchanged.

Focus on today:

21:30 US January retail sales monthly rate

21:30 Canadian January consumer price index annual rate