Weekly news summary for January 13 to January 19
Friday, Jan. 13: Bitcoin Hits $21K, Two Months after FTX Collapse
The crypto winter showed signs of thawing on Friday as Bitcoin’s prices breached $21,000 for the first time in two months when the collapse of Samuel Bankman-Fried’s FTX exchange pushed the largest cryptocurrency by market cap down to $15,000 in less than a week.
The largest cryptocurrency by market cap reached a 24-hour high of $21,095 on Friday, recovering losses incurred after FTX’s collapse in November 2022, with analysts keeping an eye on the $21,500 level.
Monday, Jan. 16: Didi’s New User Ban Lifted, Chinese Stocks Gain
Chinese stocks edged higher on Monday after ride-hailer Didi Chuxing Technology Co. Ltd. had its ban on new users lifted, 18 months after the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) enforced the prohibition, leading to the company’s delisting in the US.
Most Chinese main boards climbed around 1.5% following the news, while the Hang Seng Technology index took a breather to trade 1.1% lower after soaring more than 60% in the past three months.
Tuesday, Jan. 17: China’s Q4 GDP Grew at Second Slowest since 1976
China’s economic growth fared slightly better than expected in the fourth quarter, although it was its second slowest pace in nearly half a century, reflecting the impact of the COVID restrictions on the country’s businesses.
Official figures showed that China’s gross domestic product rose 3% in the three months ending Dec. 31 as industrial production and retail sales improved last month, but, other than the first pandemic year, the reading was still weaker than at any time since 1976.
Wednesday, Jan. 18: US PPI, Retail Sales Post Huge Drops in December
US producer prices declined in December by the most since the pandemic began, continuing a retreat in inflationary pressures and providing the Federal Reserve the opportunity for smaller interest rate hikes.
Data from the Labor Department showed that the country’s producer price index (PPI) slipped 0.5% last month, the most since April 2020, while US retail sales fell 1.1% in the same month, the largest slide since December 2021, as the sector see fewer purchases of motor vehicles and other products.
Thursday, Jan. 19: Aussie Slides as Jobs Market Cools, Kiwi Steady
The Australian dollar dropped from a recent rally against its US counterpart on Thursday, as growing concerns over a US recession and a cooling jobs market in Australia weighed on the currency, while the kiwi was steady despite news of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern stepping down.
The Aussie shed 0.5 to $0.6902, its softest level in one week, after posting a five-month high of $0.7064 in the previous session, while the kiwi lost 0.2% to $0.6417 following a seven-month high of $0.6530.
