February 04. The number of applications for unemployment benefits in the United States for the week fell by 33 thousand According to the US Department of Labor, the number of initial applications for unemployment benefits in the United States for the week fell by 33 thousand compared with the revised figure of the previous week – to 779 thousand applications. Analysts predicted a decrease in the number of applications by only 17 thousand, to 830 thousand. At the same time, the average number of initial applications over the past four weeks decreased by 1.25 thousand from the revised figure – to 848.25 thousand. The initial figure was revised downwards – to 849.5 thousand from 868 thousand. The total number of people receiving unemployment benefits in the United States fell by 193 thousand from the revised figure of the previous week, to 4.592 million. The previous week's figure was revised to 4.785 million from 4.771 million.
February 05. Oil market hits annual high The oil market continues its bullish rally, reaching $59.70 per barrel. The last time the quotes were at similar levels was in January 2020. The main support for oil prices is provided by the successful implementation of the terms of the deal to reduce oil production by OPEC + countries. On Wednesday, a meeting of the OPEC + Monitoring Committee took place, at which it was noted that the agreement was fulfilled by 101%. On the side of buyers are also data on changes in US oil reserves from the EIA - stocks of raw materials in the country continue to decline for the third week in a row. Further driving up the oil market are signs that the coronavirus pandemic is on the wane as infections, hospitalizations and deaths have been steadily declining globally over the past two or three weeks. At the same time, market participants ignored the annual report of the US Department of Energy with pessimistic forecasts for a recovery in demand. The EIA noted that aggregate energy consumption in the United States could return to 2019 levels only by 2029, and if the pace of economic recovery remains low, then even by 2050.
February 09. Elon Musk once again contributed to the historical growth of bitcoin The cost of bitcoin for the first time exceeded the $48 thousand mark today. The rapid growth was noted after Tesla's announcement of the acquisition of cryptocurrency for $1.5 billion (1.2 billion euros) and its readiness to continue to accept it as payment for electric vehicles. The increase since the beginning of the year was about 61%, and since the beginning of the day – by 2.5%. Investors expect BlackRock Inc. to join the list of companies that invest in or own Bitcoin soon. Is an international investment corporation and American tech giant Square Inc. The systematic growth of bitcoin began in the fall of 2020, it remained until mid-January 2021. After the cryptocurrency reached a record high of $40 thousand, the rate began to gradually fall and stayed in the region of $30-35. Analysts do not have a general prediction of what will happen with Bitcoin next. Some believe that the cryptocurrency was overvalued at the level of the exchange rate of $30 thousand, while others predict growth up to several hundred thousand dollars.
February 10. Oil continues to break records Oil continues to break records, reaching $61.50 a barrel. Brent rose in price for the ninth session in a row, WTI – for the eighth. The prices were supported by the forecast of the US Department of Energy, according to which in 2021 world oil demand will amount to 97.67 million barrels per day, and world supply – 97.29 million bpd. As a result, this year the market may no longer face an excess, but a shortage of oil in the amount of 380 thousand bpd. In 2022, according to the estimates of the US Department of Energy, the oil supply deficit may increase to 400 thousand bpd. Today, market participants are awaiting the publication of the US Department of Energy's report on energy reserves in the country. Yesterday, the American Petroleum Institute (API) announced a decline in oil reserves by 3.5 million barrels per week. Analysts expect the Energy Ministry data to show a 2.7 million barrels drop in US crude inventories. An additional positive for the oil market is a slight improvement in the epidemiological situation in the world. Ongoing vaccinations, declining COVID-19 incidence, and expectations for a new stimulus package in the US are improving the outlook for demand.
February 16. Oil market dynamics On Tuesday, the oil market demonstrates multidirectional dynamics: Brent quotes fluctuate in the range of $63-63.70 per barrel. The current price of the asset is $63.25. Prices were supported by news that Texas oil companies are suspending operations due to the Arctic cold, which has led to power outages in many parts of the state. Analysts note that this factor could lead to a decrease in production by about 1 million barrels per day. It should be noted that this almost completely neutralized the negative effect of the data on the number of drilling rigs in the United States. According to statistics from Baker Hughes, the number of active oil platforms has grown from 299 to 306, indicating a gradual recovery in the US oil sector. Moreover, Brent is also being supported by an improvement in the epidemiological situation in the world amid the rapid spread of vaccines. This gives hope that new restrictions will be dispensed with this year. Further dynamics of the oil market will depend on the behavior of the dollar. Now the US currency is declining across the entire spectrum of the market amid expectations of the final approval of the economic stimulus program from Joe Biden in the amount of $1.9 trillion.
February 17. Elon Musk's SpaceX raised $850 million Last week, space company SpaceX, owned by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, raised $850 million in new funds, bringing the company to a valuation of around $74 billion. The funds were raised at $419.99 per share. The previous round of funding was completed in August last year. Then SpaceX managed to raise about $2 billion at an estimate of $46 billion. Since then, Musk's company has grown by about 60% by its estimate. Experts note that over the past three days, the market has seen a truly «insane demand» for the company. The reason for this unexpected influx of funds into the company is the development of two capital-intensive projects by SpaceX. The first project – Starlink – is the creation of an interconnected Internet network using thousands of satellites. The network is designed to provide high-speed 5G internet to consumers anywhere in the world. Initially, the construction of Starlink was estimated at $10 billion, but now the company's management is confident that the network can bring in up to $30 billion a year. The second project is the construction and launch of Starship missiles. The main purpose of such rockets is to deliver goods and people (up to 100 people) to the Moon and Mars.
February 18. The number of applications for unemployment benefits in the US rose worse than expected According to the US Department of Labor, the number of initial claims for unemployment benefits for the week ended February 13, increased by 13 thousand compared with the revised figure of the previous week to 861 thousand applications. At the same time, analysts were expecting a decrease in the indicator by 28 thousand – to 765 thousand. What is even worse – the indicators of the previous week were revised upward by more than 50 thousand to 848 thousand. The number of secondary orders, which are counted one week behind the primary orders, also disappointed market participants. Secondary bids fell only slightly to 4.494 million from an upwardly revised 4.558 million. Analysts had expected 4.413 million.
February 19. Bitcoin capitalization approached $1 trillion The bitcoin rate continues to update historical highs, and the cryptocurrency capitalization is approaching $1 trillion. According to the trading data, on Friday, the bitcoin rate rose to $53,250. The capitalization of the digital currency since the beginning of 2021 has grown by almost $440 billion and, according to experts, is $979.9 billion.At the same time, the index of four cryptocurrencies calculated by Bloomberg (Galaxy Crypto Index), which includes bitcoin, has more than doubled this year. Such a rapid rise in the value of cryptocurrency is caused by the high interest in it from institutional investors, as well as companies that consider cryptocurrency as a hedge against inflation risks. An additional factor in the price hike is the periodic mentions of #bitcoin by Tesla CEO Elon Musk on his Twitter account.
February 25. US stock exchanges decline after the release of statistics on the GDP US stock exchanges are falling on Thursday after the release of statistics on GDP and the labor market. In particular, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) fell by 0.14% to 31,918.08 points, the NASDAQ high-tech index – by 0.25% to 13564.49 points, and the S&P 500 broad market index – by 0. 22%, up to 3916.6 points. Investors drew attention to the statistics on the US economy: in the IV quarter, the country's GDP, according to the second estimate, grew by 4.1% on an annualized basis (if the GDP grew at the same pace for four quarters in a row). The indicator turned out to be higher than the first estimate of growth by 4%, but worse than the forecast of growth from analysts at 4.2% in annual terms. At the same time, the US Department of Commerce kept the estimate of the fall in GDP in 2020 at 3.5%. Labor market statistics turned out to be better than expected: the number of initial applications for unemployment benefits in the United States fell to a minimum since November 2020, and the rate of decline in the indicator became the fastest since August of the same year. The number of such applications decreased by 111 thousand, to 730 thousand.
March 01. Cardano takes the lead in cryptocurrency rally Cryptocurrency Cardano last week renewed all-time highs and came in third after Bitcoin and Ethereum in terms of market capitalization, which now exceeds $46.5 million. Cardano's value has risen 2000% over the past year, gaining 300% in the last month alone. The digital currency has unexpectedly left behind major competitors, including Polkadot (DOT) and Ripple (XRP). Experts note that the rise in price of the digital currency was facilitated by the fact that the project of its developers plans to roll out the Goguen update this week. The update will implement important changes that will help the platform enter the decentralized finance segment. «Cardano is a rising star in the cryptocurrency sector,» said Nigel Greene, CEO of deVere Financial Advisory Group.
