Bitcoin broke above $40,000 on Wednesday and headed for another attempt at breaking from its monthslong range as short sellers bailed out and traders drew confidence from recent positive comments about the cryptocurrency by high-profile investors.
Bitcoin was last up 1.7% at $40,149 while rival cryptocurrency ether rose 1% to $2,328. Bitcoin is within a whisker of rising through its 100-day moving average.
China jitters lift haven currencies while dollar awaits Fed
The dollar was pinned below recent highs on Wednesday by a decline in real yields and by trepidation ahead of a Federal Reserve meeting, while other safe-haven currencies were in favor following an unnerving plunge in Chinese equity markets.
The Japanese yen rose about 0.5% on the dollar overnight to touch a one-week high, while the Swiss franc and euro also rose a little. Each held on to their gains at the beginning of the Asia session, with the yen last trading at 109.85 per dollar and the euro at $1.1819.
The Chinese yuan teetered near a three-month low at 6.5180 per dollar after logging its worst day since October on Tuesday, while the risk-sensitive Australian and New Zealand dollars also nursed losses as sentiment took a hit.
The gains by the yen, euro and franc combined to push the U.S. dollar index lower and it sat at 92.472 on Wednesday. Declining U.S. real yields, which hit another record low at the 10-year tenor overnight also cast a pall over the dollar and the global economic outlook.
Sterling was an outlier and it jumped through its 20-day moving average overnight as traders took reports that Britain was considering opening borders as a signal of further re-opening benefits to come. It last sat at $1.3874.
Focus turns now to how Chinese markets trade at the open and to investors’ positioning ahead of the Fed meeting.
Reference: CNBC, Reuters
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