[ad_1]
Oil reaches its best level since 2019
Asian markets mostly rose during the holidays on Monday, with investors eagerly awaiting the Federal Reserve’s next meeting this week hoping for further clues on monetary policy in light of the meteoric recovery in the US economy.
Another record close for the S&P 500 on Wall Street on Friday provided a good lead for the region, although with vacations in Hong Kong, China and Australia, business has been light.
Investor confidence remains high as vaccine rollouts, easing containment measures, central bank largesse and government stimulus measures provide support, with observers predicting a rally that began in April 2020 will continue next year. US data shows much higher than expected inflation last month was caught in the wake, with markets appearing to have accepted the Fed’s insistence that the spike will be temporary and their ultra-accommodative monetary policies – including record interest rates – will be maintained for the foreseeable future.
There were concerns that the surge in prices would force the bank to cut its bond buying program sooner than expected.
Still, this week’s meeting will be closely watched to get a feel for his plans.
Oil prices extended Friday’s gains on demand optimism as the global recovery progresses, with WTI at an almost three-year high and Brent around levels not seen since mid-2019.
Bitcoin surged to a distance of $ 40,000 for the first time in more than two weeks after Elon Musk said over the weekend that Tesla would again accept payments in the unit when it is mined using energy cleaner. It was $ 39,500 in Asian afternoon trading.
“When there is confirmation of reasonable (~ 50%) use of clean energy by miners with a positive future trend, Tesla will resume allowing Bitcoin transactions,” the billionaire tweeted on Sunday.
– AFP
[ad_2]