1. Bitcoin Surges Past $7,450 To Reach 1-Month High
Bitcoin climbed to more than 11% today to surpass $7,450, as strong momentum drove gains. The digital currency was last seen trading at $7,466, adding 11.6 percent as of 7:00 AM GMT. By reaching this level, Bitcoin attained its highest price since June 10. Analysts pointed to a strong positive shift in sentiment to justify today’s rally. Major recent positive news included the CFA examination adding blockchain topics to its curriculum, a move that is most certainly going bring widespread knowledge and exposure of digital assets to Wall Street.*
2. Oil Prices Drop On Rising US Stockpiles
Oil prices dropped on Wednesday after an industry group reported that U.S. crude inventories rose last week, defying analysts’ expectations for a significant reduction. Specifically, Brent futures (CL_BRENT) were down 52 cents, or 0.7 percent, at $71.64 a barrel as of 7:00 GMT while Crude WTI (USOIL) was down 44 cents, or 0.7 percent, at $66.70. Behind today’s selloff was a rise of more than 600,000 barrels in U.S. crude stockpiles, reported by the American Petroleum Institute late on Tuesday.**
3. Dollar Hits 6-Month Highs On Powell’s Optimism
The dollar rose across the board on Wednesday, climbing to a six-month high against the yen after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell gave an upbeat outlook for the U.S. economy and reinforced views that the Fed was on track to steadily hike interest rates. In a closely watched congressional testimony on Tuesday, Powell said he saw the United States on course for years more of steady growth, while largely discounting the risks associated with a trade war.***
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*Source: Forbes, July 18, 2018, 04:15 AM
**Source: CNBC July 18, 2018, 07:15 AM
***Source: Reuters July 18, 2018, 06:00 AM
