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Bitcoin Close to All-Time High After Topping $19,000

Bitcoin Close to All-Time High After Topping $19,000
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Bitcoin Close to All-Time High After Topping $19,000

Bitcoin Close to All-Time High After Topping $19,000

Bitcoin homed in on its all-time high on Tuesday after hitting $19,000 for the first time in nearly three years.

The world's most popular cryptocurrency was last up 3% at $18,918, near its all-time record of $19,666. Bitcoin has gained almost 40% in November alone and is up around 160% this year.

Fuelling its blistering rally had been a demand for riskier assets amid unprecedented fiscal and monetary stimulus designed to counter the economic damage of the COVID-19 pandemic, hunger for assets perceived as resistant to inflation and expectations that cryptocurrencies will win mainstream acceptance.

Bitcoin's 12-year history has been peppered with vertiginous gains and equally sharp drops. Its markets remain highly opaque compared with traditional assets such as stocks or bonds.

Its rally this year has prompted some investors to claim the cryptocurrency could more than quintuple in price to as high as $100,000 in a year, drawing eye rolls from skeptics who say it is a purely speculative asset.

"The latest run in bitcoin... has been fuelled by the lack of supply-side liquidity, especially on exchanges," said Jacob Skaaning of crypto hedge fund ARK36, adding that the volume of bitcoin on trading platforms was down amid high demand.

Cryptocurrency markets have matured since bitcoin's retail-fuelled rally in 2017, attracting bigger investors.

James Butterfill of digital asset manager CoinShares said growing activity in bitcoin derivatives markets "implies that sophisticated investors and institutional investors are now purchasing bitcoin."

Smaller digital currencies, which often move in tandem with bitcoin, took a breather after gaining sharply in recent days.

Ethereum, the second largest cryptocurrency, was down slightly after hitting its highest since June 2018 on Monday ahead of an upgrade to its blockchain network that is expected to make it quicker and attract more users.

The third-largest, XRP, gained 2%, turning positive after soaring almost 40% on Monday to its highest in 2-1/2 years.

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Business

Oil Falls as Trump Predicts Middle East De-escalation

Wells at the San Ardo Oil Field in San Ardo, Calif., Monday, March 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
Wells at the San Ardo Oil Field in San Ardo, Calif., Monday, March 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
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Oil Falls as Trump Predicts Middle East De-escalation

Wells at the San Ardo Oil Field in San Ardo, Calif., Monday, March 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
Wells at the San Ardo Oil Field in San Ardo, Calif., Monday, March 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)

Oil prices fell on Tuesday after hitting a more than three-year high in the previous session as US President Donald Trump predicted the war in the Middle East could end soon, easing concerns about prolonged disruptions to global oil supplies.

Brent futures fell $6.28, or 6.3%, to $92.68 a barrel at 0715 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down $6.19, or 6.5%, to $88.58 a barrel, reported Reuters.

Both contracts fell as much as 11% earlier before paring some losses. Oil surged past $100 a barrel on Monday to the highest since mid-2022, as ‌supply cuts ‌by Saudi Arabia and other producers during the expanding US-Israeli war ‌on ⁠Iran stoked fears ⁠of major disruptions to global supplies.

Prices later retreated after Russian President Vladimir Putin held a call with Trump and shared proposals aimed at a quick settlement to the war, according to a Kremlin aide, easing concerns about supply.

Trump said on Monday in a CBS News interview that he thought the war against Iran was "very complete" and Washington was "very far ahead" of his initial four- to five-week estimated time frame.

"Clearly Trump's comments about a short-lived war have calmed ⁠markets. While there was an overreaction to the upside yesterday, we ‌think there is an overreaction to the downside today," ‌said Suvro Sarkar, energy sector team lead at DBS Bank, adding that the market was ‌underappreciating risks at these levels for Brent.

"Murban and Dubai grades are still well above $100 ‌per barrel, so practically nothing much has changed in terms of ground realities," he added, referring to benchmark Middle Eastern oil grades.

In response to Trump, Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said they would "determine the end of the war," and Tehran would not allow "one liter of oil" to be exported ‌from the region if US and Israeli attacks continued, state media reported on Tuesday, citing the IRGC's spokesperson.

Prices, however, remain under ⁠pressure as Trump ⁠considers easing oil sanctions on Russia and releasing emergency crude stockpiles as part of a package of options aimed at curbing spiking global oil prices, according to multiple sources.

"Discussions around easing sanctions on Russian oil, comments from Donald Trump hinting that the conflict could eventually de-escalate, and the possibility of G7 countries tapping strategic oil reserves all pointed to the same message - that oil barrels will somehow continue to reach the market," Priyanka Sachdeva, a Phillip Nova analyst, said in a note on Tuesday.

"Once traders sensed that supply routes could still be maintained, the initial 'panic premium' that had pushed prices above the $100 mark yesterday started to fade, and oil prices quickly pulled back."

G7 nations had said on Monday they were prepared to implement "necessary measures" in response to surging global oil prices but stopped short of committing to the release of emergency reserves.

Business

Gold Gains on Weaker Dollar, Easing Inflation Concerns

AFP- A saleswoman adjusts gold jewelry for sale at a shop in Lianyungang_ in China's eastern Jiangsu province
AFP- A saleswoman adjusts gold jewelry for sale at a shop in Lianyungang_ in China's eastern Jiangsu province
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Gold Gains on Weaker Dollar, Easing Inflation Concerns

AFP- A saleswoman adjusts gold jewelry for sale at a shop in Lianyungang_ in China's eastern Jiangsu province
AFP- A saleswoman adjusts gold jewelry for sale at a shop in Lianyungang_ in China's eastern Jiangsu province

Gold prices rose on Tuesday, supported by a weaker US dollar and easing energy costs after US President Donald Trump suggested that the war in the Middle East could end soon.

Respite from a potential war-driven surge in inflation would likely reduce the chances of central banks raising interest rates, a positive for non-yielding gold, Reuters said.

Spot gold rose 0.7% ‌to $5,174.49 per ounce, ‌as of 0631 GMT. US gold futures ‌for ⁠April delivery rose ⁠1.6% to $5,184.

The dollar fell 0.4%, making greenback-priced bullion cheaper for holders of other currencies.

Gold prices rose "due to the news flow from US President Trump himself, stating that there is a potential for de-escalation ... So what we could see is that potential inflation expectation starts to tone down given this dramatic fall in ⁠oil price," said Kelvin Wong, a senior ‌market analyst at OANDA.

Oil prices ‌fell by more than 5% following Trump's comments.

But, the US president ‌also warned that US attacks could rise sharply if ‌Iran sought to block tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which handles one-fifth of the world's oil supply.

The war has effectively shut the strait, stranding tankers for over a week and forcing ‌producers to halt output as storage fills up, sending energy prices soaring.

Gold prices fell by ⁠as much ⁠as 2% on Monday as higher energy costs fanned inflation concerns and further dimmed the prospects for a near-term cut in interest rates by the US Federal Reserve.

Investors expect the Fed to keep rates steady at the end of its two-day meeting on March 18, per CME Group's FedWatch tool.

Markets are now awaiting the US consumer price index for February, due on Wednesday, and Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index - the Fed's preferred inflation gauge - on Friday.

Spot silver rose 2% to $88.73 per ounce. Spot platinum gained 0.7% at $2,196.35, while palladium lost 0.3% to $1,685.01.

Business

Milei Cheers Economic Benefits of Iran War for Argentina

President Javier Milei of Argentina was in New York participating in an investment promotion event. Angela Weiss / AFP
President Javier Milei of Argentina was in New York participating in an investment promotion event. Angela Weiss / AFP
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Milei Cheers Economic Benefits of Iran War for Argentina

President Javier Milei of Argentina was in New York participating in an investment promotion event. Angela Weiss / AFP
President Javier Milei of Argentina was in New York participating in an investment promotion event. Angela Weiss / AFP

Argentine President Javier Milei, a staunch ally of US President Donald Trump and Israel, on Monday hailed the benefits of the Iran war for his country's exports and foreign currency reserves.

The libertarian Milei, who has backed Washington and Israel's strikes on Iran, said he expected an "improvement" in oil and agricultural exports as a result of the 10-day-old conflict, said AFP.

Oil soared past $100 a barrel for the first time in four years on Monday, as Iran fired a new barrage of missiles at its US-allied oil-rich Gulf neighbors and signalled that the Strait of Hormuz would likely remain shut.

Argentina is Latin America's fourth-largest oil producer.

"Argentina, in this context, will see an improvement in its terms of trade because oil prices are rising, and Argentina is a net exporter," Milei told Argentine radio station FM NOW.

"Furthermore, all the grains that Argentina exports, soybeans, corn, and sunflower, are also rising in price," Milei said in an interview from New York, where he was participating in an investment promotion event.

Last week, wheat reached its highest level in a year and soybeans hit their highest point since June 2014 as the war drove up energy and fertilizer costs.

Milei emphasized that the war would boost Argentina's efforts to build up its foreign currency reserves, as demanded by the International Monetary Fund in return for a new $20 billion loan agreement signed last year.

The oil and gas sector accounts for 13.5 percent of Argentina's exports, second behind the agricultural sector, which accounts for more than 60 percent of foreign sales.

Soybeans amount to 24.6 percent of total exports.