Bitcoin down 0.6% at $79,925.84 as five central banks take the stage
Bitcoin traded 0.6% lower at $79,925.84 on Monday, as currency markets marked time before a week in which five major central banks deliver rate decisions. Ether fell 1.1% to $2,317.33, with the dollar index a shade weaker at 101.64 and the euro up 0.16% at $1.122.
The Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and Bank of Japan are all expected to hold rates steady, while markets are pricing potential hikes from the Bank of Canada and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone, said the decisions themselves may be largely discounted and that forward guidance could matter more than the decisions themselves, with policymakers' signals for later meetings the likely trigger for any repricing of the forward rates curve.
The dollar has lost some support as US Treasury yields compress against other G10 markets. Yields on 10-year notes were last at 4.974% and 30-year notes at 5.299%, near one-month lows, after a safe-haven rally that was kept alive by elevated oil prices and a tech-led selloff over concerns about artificial intelligence. Ray Attrill, head of FX strategy at National Australia Bank, said the US bond market appears to be in the driving seat for broader dollar performance.
Oil eased from a six-month high, with Brent crude down more than 1% at around $115 a barrel after reports that Qatari mediators were in Tehran on Sunday as part of an effort to de-escalate regional tensions in coordination with the US. Spot gold traded slightly lower at $3,986.16 an ounce.
A packed US economic calendar, including an October consumer confidence report, the PCE price index and jobless claims, could sharpen the outlook for Fed policy and, with it, the appetite for digital assets into the end of the week.
