At least two of the Bank of Japan’s nine board members called for an early interest rate increase at a policy meeting in June, minutes showed on Monday, underlining the central bank’s hawkish tilt that provides scope for further hikes ahead.
The Japanese yen surged to seven-month highs against the dollar on Monday as traders aggressively unwound carry trades after a slew of economic data last week raised the prospect of a U.S. economic downturn and bigger rate cuts from the Federal Reserve.
The World Gold Council released its quarterly report last week and the industry group reported total demand of 1,258.2 metric tons in the second quarter, the highest on record for a second quarter and some 4% above the same period in 2023.
Bitcoin’s price dipped below $50,000 for the first time since February, reaching a low of $49,351 before making a recovery to around $51,000. As a result, the original coin’s dominance rose to 58% as both the altcoin and stock markets collapsed, wiping out over 17% of the total cryptocurrency market capitalization.
U.S. stock index futures tumbled on Monday, with those tied to the Nasdaq sliding almost 5%, as fears of the United States tipping into recession following weak data last week rippled through global markets.
