News

BlockBeats News, March 7th, the dollar is experiencing its best week in over a year, strengthening as the ultimate safe haven amid the Middle East conflict and surging oil prices. As of press time, the spot dollar index has risen by 1.5% this week, marking the largest gain since the end of 2024. Hostile actions are disrupting oil production and shipping, intensifying inflation concerns for the Fed and other central banks. This has led traders to scale back bets on a Fed rate cut, further boosting the dollar. Making the economic backdrop more complex, a report on Friday showed U.S. employers cut positions unexpectedly last month. However, as the focus is mainly on energy prices, this data only briefly weighed on the dollar, which quickly resumed its upward momentum, with the 10-year benchmark bond yield climbing for the fifth consecutive day. Alex Cohen, FX strategist at Bank of America, said: "In this environment, the market is seeing through the soft data as ongoing uncertainty and record-high oil prices are overwhelmingly the dominant driving forces." (FX168)

The Nigerian Stock Exchange All Share Index closed up 0.08%, approaching 197,000 points, with a cumulative gain of 2.15% this week. This week, the Mauritius Stock Exchange SEMDEX Index fell by 2.13%, while the Nairobi Securities Exchange All Share Index in Kenya dropped by 3.55%.

Golden Ten Futures, March 6 - According to foreign media reports, the Baltic Dry Index declined as freight rates for all vessel types fell. The Baltic Dry Index dropped by 128 points, or 6%, to 2,010 points. The Capesize Index fell by 320 points, or 10.8%, to 2,631 points. Average daily earnings for Capesize vessels decreased by $2,907 to $20,355. The Panamax Index dropped by 35 points, or 1.8%, to 1,962 points. Average daily earnings for Panamax vessels fell by $314 to $17,656. The Supramax Index declined by 6 points, or 0.4%, to 1,386 points.