US destroys Iranian base controlling Strait of Hormuz
The US military said the Iranian regime’s control over the Strait of Hormuz has “eroded” after the destruction of a base from which tanker traffic was monitored.
The commander of Central Command, Admiral Brad Cooper, said there was a “steady decline” in the ability of Iran and its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to control vessel traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil shipping route in the Middle East.
“We are focused on eliminating Iran’s long-standing threat to the free flow of commerce in the Strait of Hormuz,” he said.
According to Admiral Brad Cooper, recent US attacks on an underground facility on the coast of the strait “destroyed the intelligence support points and radar relays of missiles that were used to monitor vessel traffic.”
“As a result, Iran’s ability to threaten freedom of navigation in and around the Strait of Hormuz is deteriorating,” he said. #TrumpConsidersEndingIranConflict #oil $BNB $BTC
From meeting to meeting, the market waited for Powell to finally give the signal and turn on the printing presses.
But against the backdrop of geopolitics, macro data, and tariff wars, everything has taken a turn for the worse—the market now hardly expects a rate cut in the coming year and is increasingly talking about a possible hike.
In other words, expectations have changed dramatically: just recently they were expecting easing, now they're discussing tightening. In this situation, either the bond market is wrong, or the stock market is wrong—and one of them will have to go lower.
As long as the market thinks so, I'm staying in risk-off mode (zero futures positions for the week).
The situation has worsened over the week, so I'm expecting either a decline in risky assets or clear signs of de-escalation in the Middle East, which could reverse the current hawkish expectations.#Fed $BNB
#TrumpConsidersEndingIranConflict JUST IN: 🇺🇸🇮🇷 President Trump says US will "obliterate" Iran's power plants in exactly 48 hours if Strait of Hormuz is not reopened.
JUST IN: Bitcoin crashes under $68,300 after President Trump threatens to "obliterate" Iran's power plants if Strait of Hormuz is not opened within 48 hours.
Gold prices plunged 11% in a week to $4,488 an ounce, the biggest drop since the early 1980s.
Tensions over Iran, uncertainty over Fed rates and oil supply disruptions are weighing on the market, all of which are undermining gold’s status as a safe-haven asset.#GOLD #PAXG #XAU $PAXG $XAU
‼️ WGC proposes a single standard for digital gold
📈 The World Gold Council (WGC), which was at the origin of the first gold ETF, has published a report entitled “Digital Gold: The Case for a Common Infrastructure”.
➡️ It examines the prospects for a single standard for digital gold products and proposes a “Gold as a Service” platform.
If implemented, this could lead to the emergence of unified gold tokens, their wider integration into the financial system and an expansion of application areas.#PAXG #GOLD $PAXG $XAU
Gold prices rose in Asian trading on Thursday, recouping some of their recent losses but remaining well below key levels amid uncertainty over interest rates and the inflationary impact of the US-Israeli war against Iran. Spot gold rose 0.6% to $4,847.85 per ounce by 5:13 a.m. Moscow time, while gold futures fell nearly 1% to $4,849.50 per ounce. Gold's weakness came after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, signaling uncertainty about the inflationary impact of the war with Iran.
The Fed's decision was preceded by stronger-than-expected producer price index data for February.
PPI data and Federal Reserve comments have heightened uncertainty about the path of US interest rates, with markets betting the central bank won't cut rates anytime soon. CME Fedwatch showed that markets are pricing in no rate cuts until at least September.
This perception has weighed on gold, largely offsetting the demand for safe-haven assets sparked by the conflict with Iran. The yellow metal has struggled to gain ground since the start of the war with Iran, and on Wednesday it broke below the $5,000-$5,200 per ounce trading range it has held for nearly a month.#GOLD #PAXG $XAU $PAXG
🟠 2.5 hours before the FOMC meeting, which will announce the decision on new Fed rates, Bitcoin briefly dropped below $71,000, but then recovered to above $71,300.
Traders expect the Fed to leave rates unchanged today with almost a 99% probability, so there is no reason to panic. 🇺🇸 Fed left rates unchanged
📈 The cryptocurrency market is returning to moderate growth after the Fed announced that it would keep rates unchanged.
✅ Bitcoin rose 1% to $71,900, and ETH rose 1.5% to $2,215.
More details will be known in the coming hours during Jerome Powell's press conference, but due to geopolitical uncertainty, the Fed head is likely to take a wait-and-see approach.#Fed #BTC $BTC $BNB
#MarchFedMeeting Gold Holds Near $5,000 as Markets Await Fed Signals
Gold prices have stabilized at $5,001 as investors await Fed decision. Geopolitical tensions and oil prices support demand for the metal. Gold prices have remained steady near $5,000 per ounce as investors assess the Federal Reserve's next steps. The market has virtually frozen ahead of the regulator's decision on interest rates. Bloomberg reports, UNN writes.
Details At the start of trading, the metal was hovering around $5,001 per ounce, almost unchanged from the previous session. The Fed is expected to keep rates unchanged, but key attention will be paid to signals on inflation and the labor market.
Rising energy prices amid the war in the Middle East complicate the prospects for rate cuts. The conflict has been going on for three weeks, attacks in the region continue, and supplies through the Strait of Hormuz are significantly limited.#GOLD $XAU $PAXG
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has finally clarified that most crypto assets are not securities. The regulator has introduced a new classification of tokens - now they are divided into five categories: digital goods, collectibles, instruments, stablecoins and digital securities.
🤝 The CFTC also participated in the development of the interpretation, confirming that some crypto assets fall under the regulation of the commodity market.
The main change is a departure from the previous approach: now the SEC officially recognizes that most tokens are not subject to securities laws. Clarifications have also been provided regarding practices such as staking, mining and airdrops.#SEC $BNB
The largest USD holders continue to accumulate assets: according to Santiment, the 100 richest USDC wallets on the Ethereum network now control $32.71 billion.
📊 This is a significant share of the supply, with the top 6 addresses holding over a quarter of the entire issue — about 25.6%.
Such concentration can increase the influence of large players on liquidity and the movement of funds within the ecosystem, especially during periods of market turbulence.#USDC #ETH $USDC
#OilPricesSlide 🛢 Reuters reports that a drone attack on the port of Fujairah in the UAE has suspended oil refining.
On Monday, a fire broke out in the emirate's oil processing zone following the attack. Emergency services attempted to extinguish it. No casualties were reported.
▪️ Oil prices rose following the incident, as investors' attention once again focused on threats to oil production infrastructure in the Middle East.
▪️ Brent crude futures rose $2.73, or 2.7%, to $105.87 per barrel by 7:30 GMT. They closed Friday's session up $2.68.
▪️ U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.65, or 1.7%, to $100.36 per barrel. Its price rose by almost $3 in the previous trading session.
ℹ️ Fujairah is one of the world's top three bunkering and storage hubs for petroleum products, competing with Singapore and Rotterdam. The terminals' total storage capacity amounts to tens of millions of barrels. A significant portion of crude exports from the Persian Gulf pass through it, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz. #OilMarket $BNB
✖️ XRP Network Grows, Price Falls Activity on the XRP Ledger network has reached record highs, despite the token’s price falling. The value of XRP has fallen by about 62% from its all-time high, creating a noticeable gap between network usage and the asset’s price.#Xrp🔥🔥 $XRP